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
Thomas Wyatt (poet) only thanks to the intervention of Henry's fifth wife, Queen Catherine Howard, and upon the condition of reconciling with his wife. He was granted a full pardon and restored once again to his duties as ambassador. After the execution of Catherine Howard, there were rumours that Wyatt's wife, Elizabeth, was a possibility for wife number six, despite the fact that she was still married to Wyatt. He became ill not long after, and died on 11 October 1542 around the age of 39, while staying with his friend Sir John Horsey at Clifton Maybank House in Dorset. He is buried