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The Wives of Henry VIII: Katherine Howard, Part I

© Ellen McDaniel-Weissler

Then the queen undertook to plead for the release of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet who had once been enamored of Anne Boleyn. (It is possible that the king had never quite forgiven Wyatt for being his rival.) Wyatt, in the Tower for some minor infraction, was a popular man at court, but not with the king. The Imperial Ambassador, Chapuys, noted to his master Emperor Charles V that Katherine performed a very courageous act in laying Wyatt's cause before the king. Henry grudgingly gave his consent to freeing the prisoner, provided that Wyatt confessed his guilt and returned to his wife, from whom he had been estranged for fifteen years. The release of this prisoner allowed Henry and Katherine to bask in the glow of popularity at court for weeks, and Henry enjoyed playing the roles of indulgent husband and merciful sovereign. A third prisoner, Sir John Wallop, was also released at Katherine's request.

By April of 1541 Katherine hoped that she was at last pregnant, but the momentary jubilation came to naught, and the disappointment took a toll on her relations with the king. Henry was depressed at the failure of this marriage to produce a second son for him, and Katherine began to fear that he might, in fact, take back Anne of Cleves. There was no chance of that, however. And Henry soon had more pressing matters on his hands.