The fifth wife of Henry VIII of England. Her ill-fated marriage to the king lasted less than two years before her husband had her arrested for adultery, which translated into treason under the law at the time. Barely out of her teens, the young queen had taken at least two lovers whom were arrested along with her. It is said that she watched them being executed in the courtyard from her window while imprisoned in the Tower of London. Her turn quickly followed, and she was beheaded by the axe on the morning of February 13, 1542.
Legend has it that on the night before her execution, Queen Catherine requested that the block be brought to her quarters and she practiced kneeling and placing her head on it so that she might go through her final ordeal as eloquently as was possible.
ABOUT THE DOLL
In the tradition of English beheadings, a life-sized replica of Queen Catherine's head is set out for display on a plush purple velvet pillow with thick gold tassels at the corners. The head is attached to the 14"x14" pillow base. The piece is approx 10" tall.
Over her brunette hair she wears a headpiece with a gold velvet band trimmed with copper and gold braiding. Faux rubies and pearls adorn the headband and a black satin veil drapes in the back.
Catherine's facial features are all hand-painted. Her deep brown eyes are glazed over in a cloudy and sickly death stare, framed by soft eyelashes. She is spattered with cast-off blood from the axe blow, and blood running from her mouth and nose. The neck reveals part of the crushed spinal column and severed trachea.
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nice but grusome
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