[ComradeBork]

I recently binged The Tudors on Netflix and am reminded of the beheading of wife number five, Catherine Howard. She spent the night before practicing laying her head on the block, and the day of did a credible job of taking her final bow with some grace and dignity. However, no sooner than after getting her body wrestled off the stand, and an ineffectual wipe of the stand floor with a ball of hay to smear the blood around they brought out Lady Rochford. She has to kneel down and lay her neck on the same blood-drenched block that was just used for Catherine. This really triggered an OCD attack on my part - part of me was really bothered by the idea of being executed on an unclean block, the rest of me recognized that it made no difference at all, I'd be just as dead in a moment. I wonder how the papers of the period reported that incident?

[donozark]

My grandmother used to cut the heads off chickens using the same hatchet. Chickens never complained. ..

[Ciexyz]

Lady Rochford was executed because she was supposed to watch over the young queen but instead she assisted her in bringing illicit lovers to Catherine Howard’s bedroom. Catherine hoped to secure a child from an illicit affair and Lady Rochford as her kinswoman was in on the plot. King Henry was a disgusting old dirtbag with a putrid, festering sore on his leg and there was no hope of getting another baby from him.