HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER (1497/8-1543)
Portrait of a Lady, perhaps Katherine Howard (1520-1542)
circa 1540RCIN 422293
Henry VIII married Katherine Howard (c.1520–42), as his fifth wife in July 1540. In this portrait she wears a fine pendant, which was described in an inventory of the jewels presented to Katherine by Henry, and which was also worn by Jane Seymour when she sat to Holbein some years earlier. Katherine’s marriage to Henry was shortlived: she was charged with adultery in 1541, and executed in February 1542.