The fifth marriage was to the Catholic Catherine Howard, the niece of Thomas How ard, the third

Duke of Norfolk, who was promoted by Norfolk in the hope that she would persuade Henry to restore the Catholic religion in England. Henry called her his rose without a thorn , but the marriage ended in failure. Henry's fancy wit h Catherine started before the end of his marriage with Anne when she was still a member of Anne's court. Catherine was young and vivacious, but Henry's age mad e him less inclined to use Catherine in the bedroom; rather, he preferred to adm ire her, which Catherine soon grew tired of. Catherine, forced into a marriage t o an unattractive, obese man over 30 years her senior, had never wanted to marry Henry, and conducted an affair with the King's favourite, Thomas Culpeper, whil e Henry and she were married. During her questioning, Catherine first denied eve rything but eventually she was broken down and told of her infidelity and her pr e-nuptial relations with other men. Henry, first enraged, threatened to torture her to death but later became overcome with grief and self-pity. She was accused of treason and was executed on 13 February 1542, destroying the English Catholi c holdouts' hopes of a national reconciliation with the Catholic Church. Her exe cution also marked the end of the Howard family's power within the court.[15] By the time Henry conducted another Protestant marriage with his final wife Cath erine Parr in 1543, the old Roman Catholic advisers, including the powerful thir d Duke of Norfolk had lost all their power and influence. The duke himself was s till a committed Catholic, and he was nearly persuaded to arrest Catherine for p reaching Lutheran doctrines to Henry while she attended his ill health. However, she managed to reconcile with the King after vowing that she had only argued ab out religion with him to take his mind off the suffering caused by his ulcerous leg. Her peacemaking also helped reconcile Henry with his daughters Mary and Eli zabeth and fostered a good relationship between her and the crown prince. Meanwhile, Edward was brought up a strict and devout Protestant by numerous tuto rs, including Bishop Richard Cox, John Belmain, and Sir John Cheke. The lady in charge of his upbringing was Blanche Herbert Lady Troy, whose ancestors had resi dual Lollard connections.[16] Her elegy includes the lines: ...To King Edward sh In charge of his fosterage (she was pre e was a true (And) wise lady of dignity, -eminent)....[17]