Meeting the King

Hello again! It's been a while since I've written, but only because so much has been going on. I shall do my best to write it all, although writing isn't my best subject.

 Let me first say this: I'm not the brightest girl around, but I knew something was up. I just knew it.

My uncle brought me to the court of the king to be a lady-in-waiting for the new bride of the King--Anne of Cleves. The portrait of her is quite beautiful, I have to admit:

 However, when she arrived...well, let's just say that the artist was very generous to her. I wouldn't say that she was ugly, exactly...but I just can't see her being the wife of a king. I don't think I ought to speak everything I think of her, however, since I am, after all, her lady-in-waiting. (Maybe not for long, but I'll get to that later).

Well, in any case, the king wasn't exactly pleased with his new bride. He later said that "She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported", and he believes he has been cheated. Also, I hear that he is thinking up something in order to try and avoid the marriage.

How do I know this? Well, my uncle has told me that I ought to spend some time with the king and get to know him as much as I can. I can't say for certain, but I have a feeling he was--well, I blush to put it down--but really, there is no other way to say it--I believe the king was...well...flirting with me.

It sounds terribly conceited and pompous, I know--what woman wouldn't want the king to pay her special attention?--but honestly, I do believe he was. He laughed at all my jokes and looked at me in quite the same way Dereham once did. Dereham...I do miss him.

Ahem. No point dwelling on the past, now. My uncle has told me that it is probably in my best favor to respond to his advances. I have, and now have heard many people talking about us--saying that the king finds me cheerful and full of life, and that he has no desire to marry Anne of Cleves...

...because he wants to marry me.

Let me repeat that, in case you didn't catch it.

King Henry VIII, the king of England, is in love. With me.

Isn't that exciting?! The king wants me, Catherine Howard, to be his bride! I mean, my parents and all of my relatives always told me that I was an attractive girl, but I never guessed that this would happen!

I hear my relatives are hesitant about my becoming his mistress, but I don't really care. They think I'm not bright enough to be queen of England. Well, let them doubt! It's not going to stop me.

As a last note: just so we have it clear, the king is presently in his 50s. I am 19. He is bloated, covered in sores, diseased, and generously endowed around the middle. All the same, he is the king, and a marriage to him would be a great honor to me.

(Image: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/images/Cleves,Anne02.jpg)