Henry V. Queen, Catherine Howard, was the wife with whom Henry had the greatest age gap.

Like James Seymour, she had been made in waiting to his previous queen.

The motto was non-autrovolenté cullicienne, no other will but his.

But like her cousin Anne-Belin, Catherine Howard was beheaded on Henry V. orders for allegedly

committing adultery.

Unlike Anne, she received no trial and was condemned by a parliamentary act of attainer.

And she has not come off well in recent years.

Historians have caught her a good time girl, a natural tart, a stupid,

over-sexed young woman and an empty headed wanton.

But not today's guest.

Gareth Russell is the author of one of the very finest recent biographies of any of Henry V.

its wives.

His book is young and damned and fair.

The life and tragedy of Catherine Howard at the court of Henry VIII.

And I asked him to join me to give me his judgement on Catherine.

Gareth, thank you so much for joining me today to talk about Catherine Howard.

I loved your book, so it's such a treat to talk to you about her.

Let's start with the thorny beginning, the question of when she was born.

So what's the evidence for her birthday?

How did you figure out what you thought was the most likely date?

I spent a lot of time looking slightly insane in the Duke Humphrey Library at Oxford

because it's where a lot of the wills are kept.

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