Francis Dereham (c. 1506/09 – executed ) was a Tudor courtier whose involvement with Henry VIII's fifth Queen, Catherine Howard, in her youth, prior to engagement with the king was eventually found out and led to his arrest. The information of Dereham having a relationship with Howard displeased King Henry to such great lengths he arranged the executions of all involved. Early life Francis Dereham was the son of John (Thomas) Dereham, of Crimplesham in Norfolk, and Isabel, the daughter of John Paynell, of Boothby in Lincolnshire. Relationship with Catherine Howard Dereham is known for his sexual indiscretions with Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England. The relationship occurred when she was 15, before she became queen. Dereham believed that he loved her when their affair began late in 1538. During their affair, Catherine lived in the household of Agnes Howard, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, in Norfolk House in Lambeth. Before getting involved with Catherine, Dereham was having an affair with Joan Bulmer, who lived in the same household. Dereham's relationship with Catherine came to an end when her music master, Henry Mannox, sent an anonymous letter to the Dowager Duchess. Mannox, who had started a sexual relationship with Catherine and molested her when she was 13, suggested that the Duchess should visit Catherine's bedroom "half an hour after" going to bed, adding that "you shall see that which shall displease you". As a result, Dereham was sent away and Catherine was told off for her "banqueting by night" because the Duchess feared "it would hurt her beauty". David Starkey has argued that the Duchess was more concerned about Catherine's looks than her morals. Dereham was forced to go to live in Ireland, where it is believed he resorted to piracy. Before he left, he asked Catherine to look after £100. This money was the bulk of his savings, and Catherine, when later Queen, said that he told her that if he did not return "I was to consider it as my own". In late 1539, Catherine was made lady-in-waiting to the King's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Subsequently, Dereham was appointed as a secretary at Hampton Court, an appointment possibly engineered by the Dowager Duchess to silence him about Catherine's previous indiscretions. On 27 August 1541, using the Dowager Duchess as a reference, Dereham approached his former lover at Pontefract Castle, seeking employment while the