The Rise and Fall of Catherine Howard – Power, Scandal and the Making of a Tudor Tragedy
Dates: 4 - 10 September 2026
Early Bird Price standard ticket: $99 (approximately £72.60, AUD 136.50, €84.00) if you register before 30 June 2026. Full price after that $119.
Early Bird Premium Bundle ticket: $129 (approximately £94.60, AUD 177.80, €109.40) if you register before 30 June 2026. Full price after that $149.
Places are limited to maintain meaningful discussion and interaction.
REGISTER NOW
Catherine Howard is often remembered as Henry VIII's foolish, flirtatious fifth wife — the "rose without a thorn" who betrayed an ageing king and paid the ultimate price.
But was it really that simple?
Behind Catherine’s rise and fall lies a far more complex story: a powerful Howard family, a noble girl's upbringing in a crowded household, a king desperate for youth and affection, dangerous court politics, damaging secrets, interrogation, treason law, and a devastating Tudor investigation that ended on the scaffold.
In this 7-day online event, we will follow Catherine from her early life in the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk's household to her glittering rise at court, her short queenship, the uncovering of her past, the investigation into her conduct, and the legal machinery that destroyed her.
This is not just the story of scandal.
It is the story of youth, power, reputation, evidence, fear — and the terrifying expectations placed upon a Tudor queen.
Standard Ticket Includes
- 6 structured pre-recorded video talks, which go live each day
- Daily Zoom Q&A and discussion video calls
- Two pre-event Zoom calls in July and August
- Downloadable transcripts
- Private event Facebook group/community
- Recommended reading list
- The Catherine Howard downloadable companion guide
- Lifetime access to the event replays - The talks and the Zoom recordings.
The Catherine Howard Companion Guide
This downloadable companion guide is designed to help you follow the people, places, evidence and chronology of Catherine Howard's rise and fall.
It will include:
- Howard family tree
- Timeline of Catherine's life, queenship and fall
- Chronology of the investigation
- A "Who's Who" guide to the key players
- Key locations: Lambeth, court, Hampton Court, Syon, the Tower
- Primary source information and extracts
- Myth vs fact section
Note: Book will be ready to download by 19th June 2026.
Premium Bundle Upgrade
For those who would like to go deeper, the Premium Bundle includes everything in the Standard Ticket, plus:
Choose ONE past event replay from the archive.
- A Very Tudor Christmas
- Discovering Mary I
- The Fall of Anne Boleyn
- Anne Boleyn, the Woman Who Changed England
- Elizabeth I: The Life of Gloriana
- Henry VIII and His Six Wives
- The Rise of the Tudor Dynasty
This means returning participants won't be given a replay they already own — they can choose the Tudor topic that interests them most. Claire will email you for your choice after registration.
Event Schedule
- Day 1 – Origins and Early Life - Catherine's Howard family background, her upbringing in the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk’s household, Henry Manox, Francis Dereham, and why this kind of household upbringing was normal for a girl of her class.
Includes welcome Zoom. - Day 2 – Catherine at Court and Henry's Courtship - Catherine's service to Anne of Cleves, Thomas Culpeper, Henry VIII's interest, court faction, and the beginnings of Catherine's royal marriage.
- Day 3 – Queen Catherine Howard - Catherine as queen: image, household, progress, court life, Henry's health, and the relationship between the young queen and her ageing husband.
- Day 4 – The Past Returns - John Lascelles, Mary Hall, Cranmer, the All Saints' Day revelation, Hampton Court, Catherine's reaction, and her move to Syon.
- Day 5 – Investigations and Interrogations - Dereham, Culpeper, servants, Lady Rochford, evidence gathering, confessions, contradictions and the timeline of the investigation.
- Day 6 – Treason, Trials and Executions - The legal machinery, attainders, Jane Boleyn, the executions, Catherine’s final days, and the myths surrounding her death.
- Day 7 – Final Discussion Zoom - Q & A, discussion, and end of event reflection.
Zooms take place at 10pm UK time / 5 pm New York time.
This Event Is For You If...
- You're fascinated by Tudor history and want to go beyond the myths surrounding Catherine Howard
- You'd like to understand what really happened during Catherine's rise, queenship and fall
- You enjoy evidence-based historical discussion grounded in primary sources
- You're interested in the politics, personalities and scandals of Henry VIII's court
- You’d like to explore the investigation, interrogations and legal machinery behind Catherine's destruction
- You enjoy immersive online history events with lively discussion and Q&A sessions
- You're curious about the similarities — and crucial differences — between the falls of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard
- You love examining Tudor myths and separating fact from fiction
- You enjoy learning alongside a friendly and passionate Tudor community
No prior knowledge is needed — whether you're completely new to Catherine Howard's story or already deeply immersed in Tudor history, you'll be very welcome.
Your host
I'm Claire Ridgway, historian, author and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
I have long been fascinated by the queens of Henry VIII, particularly those whose stories have become clouded by myth, simplification and sensationalism. Alongside my work on Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn family, I have also been researching Catherine Howard, her queenship and her dramatic fall, for the past few years for a book, and this event is based on that research.
Through my books, online events and YouTube channel, I specialise in examining Tudor history through primary sources and structured analysis, exploring not only what happened, but why it happened and how later interpretations have shaped our understanding of the past.
Catherine Howard’s story is one of the most compelling and tragic of the Tudor period: a young queen caught at the intersection of court politics, reputation, personal relationships, royal expectation and the terrifying machinery of Tudor law.
This event brings together years of research, close reading of contemporary evidence, and a careful re-examination of the investigation, interrogations and legal processes that led to Catherine Howard’s destruction.
Reserve Your Place Now
Follow Catherine Howard’s journey from young noblewoman, to maid of honour, to condemned queen, and uncover the truth behind one of Tudor history’s greatest tragedies.
100.90)
BUNDLE UPGRADE (adds event replay): $149.00 (approximately £109.30, AUD 205.40, €126.40)
Claire, thank you for this last event. You are the bomb! Thank you to all the historians and the people on Zoom. Everything was great.
