In the last week of November in 1541, Catherine Howard was imprisoned in Syon Abbey for adultery with Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper, her world was falling apart, but she was not the only one, other members of the Howard family also found themselves incarcerated.
In the months following Catherine's arrest, at least four of her family were imprisoned in the Tower of London for not disclosing what they knew of Catherine's past, one of them was Agnes, the sixty-four-year-old Duchess of Norfolk, she was Catherine's grandmother's cousin. All were charged with 'concealing the evil demeanour of the Queen, to the slander of the King and his succession' they were sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods.
After a search of the duchess's property, and the questioning of her servants, a charge was brought against her which was that she had opened the aforementioned Francis Dereham's private chest and destroyed documents, she admitted nothing. However, Agnes' main concern was the loss of her goods, when asked where she kept her money, she dropped to her knees weeping, asking God to save the king and give him a long and prosperous life.
Eventually, she admitted to hiding money in the private chamber of her home. When an inventory of Agnes' belongings was made there a vast amount of money, about three hundred and fifty pounds in today's money was found. The money was 'confiscated' and taken to Westminster Palace. Where it ended up, well, your guess is as good as mine!
On the 10th of December, the day that both Dereham and Culpeper were executed, Agnes was questioned again and this time she owned up to having prior knowledge of Catherine's wrongdoings at the time she was being put forward as a bride for the king, that she persuaded Catherine to bring Dereham to court and that she did burn his letters.
After a search of the duchess's property, and the questioning of her servants, a charge was brought against her which was that she had opened the aforementioned Francis Dereham's private chest and destroyed documents, she admitted nothing. However, Agnes' main concern was the loss of her goods, when asked where she kept her money, she dropped to her knees weeping, asking God to save the king and give him a long and prosperous life.
Eventually, she admitted to hiding money in the private chamber of her home. When an inventory of Agnes' belongings was made there a vast amount of money, about three hundred and fifty pounds in today's money was found. The money was 'confiscated' and taken to Westminster Palace. Where it ended up, well, your guess is as good as mine!
On the 10th of December, the day that both Dereham and Culpeper were executed, Agnes was questioned again and this time she owned up to having prior knowledge of Catherine's wrongdoings at the time she was being put forward as a bride for the king, that she persuaded Catherine to bring Dereham to court and that she did burn his letters.
Barbara Brennan as Agnes, Duchess of Norfolk in the TV Series The Tudors.
It was deemed that Agnes was too old to stand trial. After having spent another six months in the tower she was released. She died four years later at her home in Lambeth.
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