Is This The Most Lax Guardian Of The Tudor Period? | Lady Agnes Howard

Agnes Howard or Agnes til as she started life is remembered primarily for her part in the events surrounding Katherine Howard's affair with Thomas C pepper but who was the woman who supposedly neglected her young Noble charges and encouraged them to act immorally and how much of this vision of Agnes is actually true she was not born into nobility but instead into the Lincolnshire Gentry around 1477 her father was Sir Hugh tilney a land owner and administrator who married lady Ellena tailboys daughter to another prominent gentleman nothing is really known about Agnes's upbringing but she was born during a lull in the wars of the Roses during the second reign of Edward IV regardless of whether she was nobility or Gentry Agnes would still have expected a comfortable and privileged upbringing compared to most of the population she wouldn't have been given an education equal to her brothers but she would have been taught how to manage a household dancing and music reading and writing but probably not much Beyond this Agnes might have expected as an older girl or teenager to go into the household of a wealthier relation perhaps one that had married into the nobility the purpose of this would be to make contacts both for a potential position at court or in a noble household and also for finding a spouse this may have been how Agnes met her husband we know that her brother Philip was in the service of Thomas Howard who at the time was the Earl of su and it's not unlikely that Agnes herself was also in the household her cousin Elizabeth tilney was his first wife and the Countess of su it's probable that Agnes was a maid of some kind to her cousin and this was where she got to know Thomas Howard as well when Elizabeth died on the 4th of April 1497 little time was wasted on getting a dispensation around 4 months later so that Agnes Thomas could marry they did this on the 8th of November when Agnes was 20 and she now became the next Countess of sorry interestingly Thomas was happy to marry Agnes despite her Mega dowy which also suggests when coupled with the speed of their marriage that this was a love match of some kind or at least this wasn't a practical arrangement for Thomas by this point Agnes's new husband's courtly career was on the up back in 1483 when Richard thei had briefly taken the throne Thomas had been a supporter of his not surprisingly once the throne was taken by Henry viith this hadn't really done Sor any favors but he continued to be a diligent member of the nobility without causing any further trouble and 2 years after his second marriage in 1499 Thomas was called back to court the following year he had proven he was a trusted enough member of court that he accompanied Henry on a state visit to France and by 1501 had done enough to be sworn into the privy chamber Agnes would also have likely accompanied her husband to court and this would have afforded her opportunity to network and become involved in politics while women were technically barred from politics at court they were able to make connections with others provide patronage and influence people through their husband's name within that same year Henry arranged for a marriage Mar between his eldest son Prince Arthur and a Spanish infanta Catherine of aragan Thomas was one of those involved in the negotiations with Spain and on the 14th of November 1501 The Prince and infanta were married at Old St Paul's Cathedral Agnes became a lady in waiting in the young princess's household a reasonable position for a young Countess but this didn't last for long on the 2nd of April 1502 the Young Prince died but but it was a sign of how far the Earl of su had come in that he was put in charge of arranging the funeral the following year the influence of the Howards only continued to grow as they were trusted to be part of the courtiers who escorted Margaret chuda the king's eldest daughter to Scotland for her wedding to James ivth treasury accounts show that while they were in Scotland Agnes and one of her stepdaughters lady Muriel gray were given a length of cloth of gold as payment for having helped to clip the king's beard on the 9th of August the day after his wedding it may sound like a strange job for a noble woman but it was one that showed how much the Howard family were now trusted of course attending court and Royal events were not the only duties Agnes carried out over the course of her marriage which appears to have been happy she would have at least 11 children of these children around seven of them survived to adulthood four daughters and Three Sons this was on top of the other 10 children Thomas already had from his previous marriage to Elizabeth so their household was a sizable one it's also likely they had other younger members of the Howard family in service the same way Agnes might have been and this would set the tone for the household in years to come with regards to Wards Agnes later looked after in 1509 Henry iith died and the kingship passed over to his remaining son Henry VII as another show of faith in the Howards Thomas was once again given an important task as one of the executiv of the late King's will both Thomas and Agnes must have impressed Henry VII who was now married to his brother's widow Catherine of aragan as in 1514 Thomas was awarded for his years of service to the court by being bestowed with the title of dukee of Norfolk making Agnes a duchess now Agnes has self Rose through the court especially as she was no longer merely a countess and lady in waiting to a princess but a duchess and a lady in waiting to the Queen of England when Princess Mary the king and queen's first and what would be their only surviving child was born in 1516 Agnes stood as her godmother this was an important position given only to trusted female members of the Court who had not only proven themselves but were also quite literally thought of as good influences on the young princess Agnes was also present with Mary in 1520 when the young girl impressed visitors from France with a recital on the virginals a type of harps Accord however by 1522 almost at the age of 80 the Duke's poor health started to fail him and he retreated from Court retiring to framlingham Castle 2 years later he died on the 21st of May 1524 and Agnes was trusted by him to be an executor of his will not only that but she was now an extremely wealthy Widow with around 24 Estates under her belt she also remained in favor at court on her own Merit as in 1526 she was once again given a prominent position as first lady in waiting to Queen Catherine only behind the King's sister Mary Tuda however change was coming and Henry was fast becoming disillusioned with his wife casting his eye over one of her ladies in waiting and berin it wasn't long before the king put Catherine to one side and send her from court and he began what was at least an emotional affair with Anne Agnes along with much of the Howard family was against the idea of the king separating from Catherine but by the winter of 1532 the king secretly married Anne Catherine had already been dismissed from Court a year earlier and Anne had had taken over the Queen's Royal Chambers the reason for the secret wedding may possibly have been due to Anne becoming pregnant as she may have realized that carrying the king's child would hasten his marriage to her and so she might have started sleeping with him before their marriage on the 25th of January 1533 Henry and Anne were officially married in a much more public ceremony and a few days later on the 23rd of May Thomas krammer declared the marriage to Katherine null and void and Henry's new marriage to Anne valid on the 28th Agnes like most of the rest of her family did not agree with the divorce but was in a unique position as she was also related to Anne who was her step granddaughter this meant she was still in a high position at court and was present at an's coronation as one of those chosen to carry her train when Princess Elizabeth the king and queen's newborn daughter was christened on the 10 of September that same year Agnes carried the infant and also acted as one of her godmothers this shows that the Howards were now powerful enough at court to hold their own political views even in opposition as their Network and connection to the queen was strong enough to withstand this however this wouldn't last forever the lack of a prince being born made Henry grow weary with Anne which wasn't helped by her insistence on religious reform by 1536 he was already eyeing up wife three and in what is now thought of as a farce of a trial Anna and her brother George were both found guilty of adultery incest and treason and the queen was executed on the 19th of May 1536 at the Tower of London Henry then married Jane Seymour a few weeks later and after her death an of cleaves Agnes was still at court at this time but perhaps was a less prominent figure she would have continued running her estate and this included looking after several Wards most of her young Wards lived at Norfolk house in Lamberth or chesworth house in the village of ham Sussex one of Agnes's Wards who was also her step-granddaughter was Katherine Howard sent in 1531 to chesworth house she would have been only around 8 to 10 years old and would have been impressed by the Grandeur of Agnes's household as the fourth highest ranked woman in the country Agnes had to keep a household to match her impressive fortunes and the Mana house would have bustled with activity and servants by this point Agnes was known for her lavish lifestyle across her 24 Estates but she also spent a lot of time at court however she still found time to write letters of unwanted medical advice to Cardinal waly patronized several poets and Agnes also became very well known for her a serbic and sarcastic put down of many other courtiers she was also wealthy enough that she kept around £800 worth of silver handy in her main household just in case and was a generous employer however her many absences away at court meant she was not around as often as she could have been to keep a firm grip of any situations arising in her household Catherine nevertheless would have been given an education befitting a member of the Howard family part of this would have been music lessons around 1536 in her early teens she started lessons with Henry manx a young man who was probably in his early 20s and their conversations eventually led to a highly inappropriate relationship this would last until 1538 and there's debate over whether this really was two young people who fancied each other and took a silly risk or if this was at worst The Grooming of a younger girl Henry also seems to have pressured Catherine to have sex with him although later the pair would admit only to sexual touching not actual Kus and the fact he also gossiped about her to the servants led to Catherine breaking off their relationship in the spring of 1538 but there was more to come in the form of one of Agnes's secretaries Francis daram who also happened to be a distant Kinsman of hers he was attracted to Catherine and shortly after she broke off the en entanglement with Henry Maddox he began to pursue her according to the later account both of them gave the pair did become lovers but there seems to have been genuine affection between the pair they jokingly called one another husband and wife and Catherine even took care of some of Durham's money when he briefly went abroad a task that would normally be taken care of by a wife it's even possible they exchanged vows between each other if not in a church but where was Agnes while all this was happening as she was often still away at court Agnes did not find out about the affair until 1539 on a rare visit to Sussex and she immediately put an end to it when she went to mass one morning the letters of petition left for her were brought forth and one in particular had a strange message it warned that if she went up into the bedroom of the maidens of the house half an hour earlier than usual she would see that which shall displease you Catherine and several of the other female Wards and servants shared a large bedroom as was customary for the period Francis had been known to share a bed with Catherine to the extent that one of the other servants in the room Marjorie would later say she saw daram removing Catherine's clothes and had told her he knew enough about sex to not get Catherine pregnant Agnes apparently entered the room and found the young couple in an embrace she felt her punching them both before firing off a furious tirade finally storming off to her Chambers to calm down she must have been horrified to find out such relationships were going on in the household and yet Francis darham was able to keep his job this was the real reflection on the duchess's conduct not the fact that Catherine had taken the Mickey with her relationships which had easily gone under the radar due to Agnes being away and leaving the household in the hands of her Steward but the fact she did not dismiss daram or at least send Catherine away to another relative however Thomas Howard Agnes's stepson was called on to bring Catherine to court and she first made an appearance there by the summer of 1539 this was partly to distance her from the Scandal but also to help further the Ambitions of the Howard family she became a maid of honor to an of cleaves and this would be where she was first seen not by the king but by Thomas C pepper Thomas C pepper was in the service of Henry VII a young man with wealth looks and ambition to get as far ahead as he could he had worked for Vi count Lyle who was an uncle of Henry VII helping the vi count to obtain items for the court including a hawk for the king himself it wasn't long before K pepper who was described as a beautiful youth charming and knew how to make himself indispensable soon became a favorite of Henry's he had some influence over the king and was often bribed to speak for others in their favor eventually he was created Keeper of the Armory working his way up to being given the position of gentleman of the privy chamber Henry had also given K pepper several properties by the time Catherine arrived at court while Catherine was a maid of honor she received no end of attention from many of the men at court and Thomas was known as someone who went through the women so it was unsurprising that he was eventually drawn to Catherine who was considered Beautiful by many there and they had something of a romance for a short while however being known as an irresistible ladies man was too much of a pull for Thomas as Catherine refused his more sexual advances and his attention soon wavered to another leading to Catherine ending things between them at this point Katherine and Henry didn't really have much communication as was etiquette in the 16th century Court Catherine and Henry would flirt whenever they met and he obviously found her attractive but it went no further for some time however as the king's interest in his fourth wife an quickly waned he increased his attention towards Catherine there is no doubt that Agnes as well as Thomas Howard would have absolutely encouraged Catherine flirting back well knowing there was a chance he might consider her for his next wife while Catherine wasn't old enough to have the life experience of knowing how to be manipulative with Henry she did understand how to flatter men and make herself more attractive to them she pretended not to notice the oozing puss from his bad leg or indeed all the other qualities which made Henry unattractive and allowed him to feel he was once again the athletic handsome youth he had once been the problem with all of this was that cther while she was technically free to marry had a murky romantic past for the time she lived in and while Thomas Howard could be excused merely for being ambitious Agnes was not only ambitious but aware of Catherine's past this was something that could have been brushed under the carpet if her step granddaughter was considering marrying another Noble perhaps but this was the king the Queen's morality had to be without question as seen with amberin and it could easily be discovered this made Agnes at least complicit in the events that would follow from this point onwards even if she did not cause them Henry quickly became enamored with Catherine and throughout 1540 he lavished her with gifts and detention and it became clear that he was starting to make moves on her it wasn't long before an of cleaves was told the Furious story of there being plague in the city which was highly unlikely as Henry himself was deeply afraid of being ill and yet stayed however he did find time to visit Katherine Howard and bring her to dinners it wasn't long before he began to make moves to bring her in as his next wife on the 12th of July 1540 an amicable annulment was found between an of cleaves and Henry VII wasting little time Henry then married Catherine on the 28th of July the same year at Oakland's Palace near as with previous Queen since amberin no coronation was ever planned for her although it's possible it could have happened had Catherine given birth to a son Agnes was once again one of the top players at court as a relative of the new Queen and many members of the Howard family were moved into higher positions Catherine was a different Queen to those who had come before her being so young and extroverted in personality she loved dancing and entertainment before anything else and this was heightened by the fact she wasn't allowed to be involved politically due to her young age she was instead visited each night by Sir Thomas henage Henry's groom of the stool who kept her up to date with administrative Affairs and the King's well-being Henry himself was happy to indulge his pretty new wife and he gave into Katherine's every women desire however Catherine was also a Kind and Generous person who would often pass many of her gifts onto her servants and friends but it wouldn't be long before she once again got herself into romantic trouble Thomas Co pepper seeing a way to get ahead decided to ingratiate himself once more with the new queen with the aid of Jane Bolin one of her ladies in waiting she made it possible for him to meet with Catherine and they began an affair as to whether that Affair was merely emotional or physical comes down to later evidence but certainly over the course of the summer of 1541 it increased in August Henry and Catherine went on Royal progress stopping briefly at pontif frat Castle it was here that Catherine and Thomas allegedly met several more times much more brazenly meeting in Katherine's chamber while Jane bin sat outside and kept watch by October Thomas cranmer had been given information about the affair and on the 30th he slipped a letter to Henry telling him all that had been been found out Catherine and her ladies in Waiting were dancing in her Chambers at the time and they were all sent away apart from Jane berin Catherine and Jane were confined to her quarters and Catherine's guilty conscience kicked in and wouldn't let her eat for 2 days Henry arranged a few days later to be in the chapel Royal praying as Catherine was removed and taken to Oakland's Palace she would never see the King again it became clear very quickly that Henry was now going to have Catherine's past and movements looked over with a fine tooth comb and no one was to be spared in the search Thomas Howard was the only relative who stayed for the time being near his niece and was with her when she was told about Henry's decision to keep her in her Chambers Agnes knowing she had known about Catherine's past and allowed her to marry the king regardless must have been terrified she ordered all 24 of her Estates be turned over in order to look for incriminating evidence and she had coffers at the places where Catherine had stayed searched for letters from Francis darham which were then burnt however she also held the personal view that Catherine could not be punished for having sex before marriage no matter how it was looked down upon by 16th century Society it's clear that at this point Agnes did not know the full extent of what had been discovered it wasn't long before questioning led to Catherine being placed in cion Abbey under arrest stripped first of her finery and Rings symbols of her queenship the entire Howard family now fell under suspicion it was suspected the queen had a lover but the council were not entirely sure who it would be although Co pepper was suspected with the evidence from servants who had once worked in the duess of norfolk's households Catherine's sworded past was dragged up and evidence from her ladies in Waiting pointed to C pepper as well C pepper was arrested and brought to the Tower of London for questioning along with Francis darham eventually C pepper and darham would be executed on the 10th of December 1541 for treason their heads put up on Pikes on London Bridge and Agnes was also in the firing line also on the 10th of December the now elderly Duchess was arrested and brought to the tower her Estates being turned over under the king orders she did not immediately give into the interrogation given to her but she was put under immense pressure it was not legal at the time to torture nobility so she was safe from this but she was also around 64 years of age and it was feared The Strain would increase the chances of her dying from the stress eventually Agnes relented and admitted she had along with other members of her family encouraged Catherine to show affection to the king and she also gave gave up everything she knew about Francis darham and Henry manx and it was enough to sink the entire Howard family completely a few days later Agnes's son William Howard first Baron Howard of Effingham his wife Margaret Agnes's daughter lady Anne Howard Countess of Oxford and Agnes's younger daughter Katherine doony lady Bridgewater were all arrested and brought to the tower they along with several of their servants were in interrogated and charged with treason their goods and lands were forfeit and they were sentenced to life imprisonment Agnes was included in this although due to her age she was not brought to trial for Fears she might die out of perversity to defraud the king's highness of the confiscation of her Goods however she remained in the tower under a sentence of life imprisonment and no longer had access to her vast Fortune the Duke of Norfolk panicked and immediately denounced his stepmother and other family members writing a letter to the king dripping with dislike for what his family had done eager to escape their fate the entire Affair was now publicly known the former Queen was charged with high treason and senten to beheading with an act of attainer which also allowed Jane now considered to have gone mad while imprisoned to also be executed Catherine and Jane were both LED out to the scaffold on the 13th of February and and beheaded their bodies buried with other victims of Henry VII Fury in the tower's Chapel of St Peter advincula Agnes however remained in the tower for a while longer Henry wanted to push further with her punishment as he thought she was as complicit as darham but his privy Council managed to convince the king to allow her to remain simply imprisoned not executed on the 5th of May 1542 Agnes was finally released from the tower along with her children children it seemed that now the queen had paid for the event with her life a line could be drawn under it although the Howards would never be trusted in Henry's court again The Duchess withdrew from politics for the first time in her life and retreated to her household although she no longer had her Estates she would live for another 3 years until May 1545 when she died aged around 68 years old even in death Judah politics would once again inter feere when due to the dissolution of the monasteries her family moved her body from Thetford Abbey to Lambeth Church in Su near norol house by 1546 most of her lands had been reclaimed by the Howards through her stepson the Duke of Norfolk Agnes Howard was a perfect example of her age a woman married into a political family inextricably linked to the Royal Court and its intimacies a woman who was a force in her own right in an age when women were still not legally allowed to be actively involved in much public life however she overstepped the boundaries required of her age when she allowed Catherine to have relationships that for the 16th century were considered loose and immoral this would stain the past of the poor girl while Agnes was not the instigator her poor handling of the situation allowed it to develop far beyond what it should have she would go down in history as a woman who allowed free Reign Over the teenagers under her care when in fact she was merely an absent Guardian who did not know how to stop the behavior when brought to her attention and so despite Agnes being one of the most politically involved women of her time this one event would color the history of her entire [Music] life if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like And subscribe so you don't miss any new documentaries [Music]