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
Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 The Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 (33 Hen 8 c 21) was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed in 1542 to authorise the execution of Catherine Howard for adultery. It also created a new way in which the Royal Assent could be granted to legislation. Queen Catherine was to be convicted by bill of attainder, rather than by ordinary prosecution in a court of law. However, until 1542 the Royal Assent could only be granted by the king in person, at a ceremony in which the whole text of the bill