Catherine Howard her mother already had five children from her first husband, Ralph Leigh ( – 1509); she went on to have another six with Catherine's father, Catherine being about her mother's tenth child. With little to sustain the family, her father was often reduced to begging for handouts from his more affluent relatives. After Catherine's mother died in 1528, her father married twice more. In 1531 he was appointed Controller of Calais. He was dismissed from his post in 1539, and died in March 1539. Catherine was the third of Henry VIII's wives to have been a member of the English
Catherine Howard, Countess of Suffolk The Countess was ultimately caught and, as a result of her treachery, she and her family were banned from court. Peers generally sympathised with Sir Thomas for being caught in her web of corruption, and she endured the blunt of the blame for the Howards' fall from grace. After being expelled from court, she continued to write letters on behalf of others seeking court positions. Howard had fourteen children: Catherine Howard, Countess of Suffolk Catherine (or Katherine) Howard, Countess of Suffolk (1564–1638), was an English court office holder. She served as lady-in-waiting to the queen consort of England, Anne of