Catherine Carey Carey of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII, and his wife Mary Boleyn, who had once been a mistress of the king. Catherine was Elizabeth I's first cousin. Some contemporaries also asserted that Catherine was an illegitimate child of Henry VIII, which would make her Elizabeth's half-sister. Although this was never acknowledged by the King, Catherine was given deference by the Court as she aged and came to resemble Henry. Catherine was said to be a witness to the execution of her aunt, Anne Boleyn, in 1536. But according to
Catherine Howard 1537. Margaret Douglas died in March 1578, age 63. Her grandson James Stewart became king of both Scotland and England. Other exist, mostly showing her decades after these portraits were painted. The portrait shown on this page, attributed to Hans Holbein, dated circa 1535–1540, is exhibited at the Toledo Museum of Art as "Portrait of a Lady, Probably a Member of the Cromwell Family" (1926.57). Another version of the portrait, now located at Hever Castle, dating from the 16th century, is exhibited as Queen Catherine Howard. The National Portrait Gallery exhibits a similar painting, "Unknown Woman, Formerly Known as Catherine