John Gage (Tudor politician) Tower and as a Privy Counsellor. In his role as Constable of the Tower, he supervised the arrangements for the execution of Catherine Howard. In 1541 he became a Knight of the Garter and in 1542 he succeeded as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1544 he undertook an important role for the invasion of France, organising transport and supplies for the army, and he became a knight banneret. Present at the funeral of Henry VIII, he was appointed one of the executors of the king's will and a member of Edward VI's Regency Council. Differences soon arose between
Catherine Howard with Henry's favourite male courtier, Thomas Culpeper, a young man who "had succeeded [him] in the Queen's affections", according to Dereham's later testimony. Culpeper called Catherine "my little, sweet fool" in a love letter; she considered marrying him during her time as a maid-of-honour to Anne of Cleves. The couple's meetings were arranged by one of Catherine's older ladies-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (Lady Rochford), the widow of Catherine's executed cousin, George Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's brother. During the autumn Northern Progress, a crisis began to loom over Catherine's conduct. People who had witnessed her earlier indiscretions while still a ward