Catherine Howard (c. 1520-1525; 13 February 1542), also spelled Katherine or Katheryn,[1] was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn". Catherine's birth date and place of birth are unknown (but occasionally cited as 1521 or 1525, possibly in Wingate, County Durham). She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard, a younger son of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk. This made her a first cousin of the King's second wife, Anne B...