Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk wed Norfolk's other niece, Catherine Howard, as his fifth wife. As a result of this marriage, for a time, Norfolk enjoyed political prominence, royal favour, and material rewards. However, when Queen Catherine's premarital sexual indiscretions and her alleged adultery with Sir Thomas Culpeper were revealed to King Henry VIII by Archbishop Cranmer, the King's wrath turned on the Howard family, who were accused of concealing her misconduct. Queen Catherine Howard was condemned by a bill of attainder and was later executed on 13 February 1542. Several other members of the Howard family were sent to the Tower, including Norfolk's stepmother,
Catherine Howard words, asking for forgiveness for her sins and acknowledging that she deserved to die 'a thousand deaths' for betraying the king, who had always treated her so graciously. Catherine was beheaded with a single stroke of the executioner's axe. Lady Rochford was executed immediately thereafter on Tower Green. Both their bodies were buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where the bodies of Catherine's cousins Anne and George Boleyn also lay. Other cousins were also in the crowd, including the Earl of Surrey. King Henry did not attend. Catherine's body was not one