I think Katherine was very aware that the Tudor court was a warren of competing interests. She had observed how the former queens had been used as pawns in the personal, political and religious issues that went on around Henry. She was also aware that Henry was always easy to manipulate. She was very steadfast in her convictions about faith. She was well aware that the cabal that centered around Archbishop Gardiner and Mary were intent on diminishing her influence in order to manipulate Henry back into repression of all reformers. Henry's break with Rome was more a move borne from expediency rather than actual faith. In order to survive herself, protect her fellow reformers at court, she had to appear strong. She had just replaced a queen who was only a pawn and not a player at court. The reality was that by the time Henry married Katherine Parr, he was impotent. Beyond Henry's personal vanity and needs, he wanted a second son to insure the Tudor dynasty. The reality was that that was not going to happen. No one wanted to tell Henry that. I think that part of the behavior by Catherine Howard, was predicated on the fact that Henry was incapable of siring an child. Catherine Howard, at the age of 13 or so was under tremendous pressure from her family to have a child to insure their influence at court. She paid an ultimate price.
Katherine was aware that her ultimate power was that Henry trusted her and her opinions. She dressed as a woman who was not only a consort but an advisor. This allowed her to fend off all attempts to bring her down. I think the only people she came to trust were Dot, her sister and Huicke.