Biography of Catherine Howard, Queen of England

Biography of Catherine Howard, Queen of England Catherine Howard (c. 1523–February 13, 1542) was the fifth wife of Henry VIII. During her brief marriage, she was officially the Queen of England. Howard was beheaded for adultery and unchastity in 1542. Fast Facts: Catherine Howard Known For: Howard was briefly the Queen of England; her husband Henry VIII ordered her to be beheaded for adultery.Born: 1523 in London, EnglandParents: Lord Edmund Howard  and  Joyce CulpeperDied: February 13, 1542 in London, EnglandSpouse: King Henry VIII (m. 1540) Early Life Catherine Howard was born in London, England, sometime around 1523. Her parents were  Lord Edmund Howard  and  Joyce Culpeper. In 1531, through the influence of his niece Anne Boleyn, Edmund Howard obtained a position as comptroller for Henry VIII in Calais. When her father went to Calais, Catherine Howard was placed in the care of Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, her fathers stepmother.  Howard lived with Agnes Tilney at Chesworth House and then at Norfolk House. She was one of many young nobles sent to live under Agnes Tilneys supervision- and that supervision was notably loose.  Howards education, which included reading and writing and music, was directed by Tilney. Youthful Indiscretions About 1536, while living with Tilney at Chesworth House, Howard had a sexual relationship with a music tutor, Henry Manox (Mannox or Mannock). Tilney reportedly struck Howard when she caught the two together. Manox followed her to Norfolk House and tried to continue a relationship. Manox was eventually replaced in young Howards affections by Frances Dereham, a secretary and relative. Howard shared a bed at the Tilney home with Katherine Tilney, and the two were visited a few times in their bedchamber by Dereham and Edward Malgrave, a cousin of Henry Manox, Howards former love. Howard and Dereham apparently did consummate their relationship, reportedly calling each other husband and wife and promising marriage- what to the church amounted to a contract of marriage. Manox heard gossip of the relationship and jealously reported it to Agnes Tilney. When Dereham saw the warning note, he guessed it had been written by Manox, which implies that Dereham knew of Howards relationship with him.  Tilney again struck her granddaughter for her behavior and sought to end the relationship. Howard was sent to court, and  Dereham went to Ireland. At Court Howard was to serve as a lady in waiting to Henry VIIIs newest (fourth) queen, Anne of Cleves, soon to arrive in England. This assignment was probably arranged by her uncle, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and one of Henrys advisors.  Anne of Cleves arrived in England in December 1539, and Henry may have first seen Howard at that event. At court, she caught the kings attention, as he was quite quickly unhappy in his new marriage. Henry started courting Howard, and by May was publicly giving her gifts. Anne complained of this attraction to the ambassador from her homeland. Marriage Henry had his marriage to Anne of Cleves annulled on July 9, 1540. He then married Catherine Howard on July 28, generously bestowing jewelry and other expensive gifts on his much-younger and attractive bride. On their wedding day, Thomas Cromwell, who had arranged the marriage of Henry to Anne of Cleves, was executed. Howard was publicly made queen on August 8. Early the next year, Howard began a flirtation- perhaps more- with one of Henrys favorites, Thomas Culpeper, who was also a distant relative on her mothers side and who had a reputation for lechery. Arranging their clandestine meetings was Howards lady of the privy chamber, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, widow of George Boleyn who had been executed with his sister Anne Boleyn. Only Lady Rochford and Katherine Tilney were permitted into Howards rooms when Culpeper was present. Whether Culpeper and Howard were lovers or whether she was pressured by him but did not acquiesce to his sexual advances is unknown. Howard was even more reckless than to pursue that relationship; she brought her old lovers Manox and Dereham to court as well, as her musician and secretary. Dereham bragged about their relationship, and she may have made the appointments in an attempt to silence them about their past. Charges On November 2, 1541, Cranmer confronted Henry with the allegations about Howards indiscretions. Henry at first did not believe the allegations. Dereham and Culpeper confessed to their part in these relationships after being tortured, and Henry abandoned Howard. Cranmer zealously pursued the case against Howard. She was charged with unchastity before her marriage and with concealing her precontract and her indiscretions from the king before their marriage, thereby committing treason. She was also accused of adultery, which for a queen consort was also treason. A number of Howards relatives were also questioned about her past, and some were charged with treasonous acts for concealing her sexual past. These relatives were all pardoned, though some lost their property. On November 23, Howards title of queen was stripped from her. Culpeper and Dereham were executed on December 10 and their heads displayed on London Bridge. Death On January 21, 1542, Parliament passed a bill of attainder making Howards actions an executable offense. She was taken to the Tower of London on February 10, Henry signed the bill of attainder, and she was executed on the morning of February 13. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, also beheaded for treason, Howard was buried without any marker in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. During Queen Victorias reign in the 19th century, both bodies were exhumed and identified, and their resting places were marked. Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, was also beheaded. She was  buried with Howard. Legacy Historians and scholars have struggled to reach a consensus about Howard, with some describing her as a deliberate troublemaker and others characterizing her as an innocent victim of King Henrys rages. Howard has been depicted in a variety of plays, films, and television series, including The Private Life of Henry VIII and The Tudors. Ford Madox Ford wrote a fictionalized version of her life in the novel The Fifth Queen. Sources Crawford, Anne.  Letters of the Queens of England, 1100-1547. Alan Sutton, 1994.Fraser, Antonia. The Wives of Henry VIII. 1993.Weir, Alison.  The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.

Sex Chromosome Abnormalities

Sex Chromosome Abnormalities Sex chromosome abnormalities occur as a result of chromosome mutations brought on by mutagens (like radiation) or problems that occur during meiosis. One type of mutation is caused by chromosome breakage. The broken chromosome fragment may be deleted, duplicated, inverted, or translocated to a non-homologous chromosome. Another type of mutation occurs during meiosis and causes cells to have either too many or not enough chromosomes. Alterations in the number of chromosomes in a cell can result in changes in an organisms phenotype or physical traits. Normal Sex Chromosomes In human sexual reproduction, two distinct gametes fuse to form a zygote. Gametes are reproductive cells produced by a type of cell division called meiosis. They contain only one set of chromosomes and are said to be haploid (one set of 22 autosomes and one sex chromosome). When the haploid male and female gametes unite in a process called fertilization, they form what is called a zygote. The zygote is diploid, meaning that it contains two sets of chromosomes (two sets of 22 autosomes and two sex chromosomes). The male gametes, or sperm cells, in humans and other mammals are heterogametic and contain one of two types of sex chromosomes. They have either an X or a Y sex chromosome. However, the female gametes or eggs contain only the X sex chromosome and are homogametic. The sperm cell determines the sex of an individual in this case. If a sperm cell containing an X chromosome fertilizes an egg, the resulting zygote will be XX or female. If the sperm cell contains a Y chromosome, then the resulting zygote will be XY or male. X and Y Chromosome Size Difference The Y chromosome carries genes that direct the development of male gonads and the male reproductive system. The Y chromosome is much smaller than the X chromosome (about 1/3 the size) and has fewer genes than the X chromosome. The X chromosome is thought to carry around two thousand genes, while the Y chromosome has less than one hundred genes. Both chromosomes were once about the same size. Structural changes in the Y chromosome resulted in the rearrangement of genes on the chromosome. These changes meant that recombination could no longer occur between large segments of the Y chromosome and its X homologue during meiosis. Recombination is important for weeding out mutations, so without it, mutations accumulate faster on the Y chromosome than on the X chromosome. The same type of degradation is not observed with the X chromosome because it still maintains the ability to recombine with its other X homologue in females. Over time, some of the mutations on the Y chromosome have resulted in the deletion of genes and have contributed to the decrease in the size of the Y chromosome. Sex Chromosome Abnormalities Aneuploidy is a condition characterized by the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes. If a cell has an additional chromosome, (three instead of two), it is trisomic for that chromosome. If the cell is missing a chromosome, it is monosomic. Aneuploid cells occur as a result of either chromosome breakage or nondisjunction errors that happen during meiosis. Two types of errors occur during nondisjunction: homologous chromosomes dont separate during anaphase I of meiosis I or sister chromatids dont separate during anaphase II of meiosis II.Nondisjunction results in some abnormalities, including: Klinefelter syndrome is a disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome. The genotype for males with this disorder is XXY. People with Klinefelter syndrome may also have more than one extra chromosome resulting in genotypes which include XXYY, XXXY, and XXXXY. Other mutations result in males that have an extra Y chromosome and a genotype of XYY. These males were once thought to be taller than average males and overly aggressive based on prison studies. Additional studies, however, have found XYY males to be normal.Tuner syndrome is a condition that affects females. Individuals with this syndrome, also called monosomy X, have a genotype of only one X chromosome (XO).Trisomy X females have an additional X chromosome and are also referred to as metafemales (XXX). Nondisjunction can occur in autosomal cells as well. Down syndrome is most commonly the result of nondisjunction affecting autosomal chromosome 21. Down syndrome is also referred to as trisomy 21 because of the extra chrom osome. The following table includes information on sex chromosome abnormalities, resulting syndromes, and phenotypes (expressed physical traits). Genotype Sex Syndrome Physical Traits XXY, XXYY, XXXY male Klinefelter syndrome sterility, small testicles, breast enlargement XYY male XYY syndrome normal male traits XO female Turner syndrome sex organs dont mature at adolescence, sterility, short stature XXX female Trisomy X tall stature, learning disabilities, limited fertility Sex Chromosome Abnormalities