Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk (1675 – 28 September 1733) was an English nobleman and politician, styled Hon. Charles Howard from 1691 to 1731.

Biography

The third son of

Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk (18 July 1627 – 10 December 1709) was the youngest son of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, but inherited the title because none of his brothers left surviving sons. He married three times: *By his first ...

, he was commissioned a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in Echlin's Regiment of Dragoons on 27 February 1703. During that year, he sat for a few months as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

. On 2 March 1706, he married Henrietta, who was the daughter of

Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet (1657 – 21 August 1698) was an English Whig (British political faction), Whig politician and baronet. He represented several seats in the House of Commons of England between 1681 and 1698, when he was killed in a ...

and had been placed with the Suffolk family on her father's death. Their one son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, was born in 1710. The marriage was not a happy one; Charles was a drunken and abusive husband, and neither was possessed of any great means. Charles and Henrietta travelled to

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

to seek favour with the Prince-Elector George, who seemed likely to succeed to the English throne. They were, indeed successful in securing posts at his accession as George I in 1714; Charles as

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

to the King, and Henrietta as a Woman of the Bedchamber to Caroline, Princess of Wales. However, this brought Henrietta into the company of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, whose mistress she became. Charles was by no means complacent about these arrangements, and, according to

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

, his acquiescence had eventually to be bought with a pension of £1,200 p.a. He also received an appointment as Deputy Lieutenant of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in 1718 and a commission as captain and lieutenant-colonel in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in 1719. He was not reappointed as a Groom of the Bedchamber after the death of George I in 1727; he had formally separated from his wife shortly before the end of the reign. In 1731, he succeeded his brother Edward as

Earl of Suffolk Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfei ...

, and as Henrietta was now formally a Countess, she was appointed

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...

. Suffolk died in 1733 and was succeeded by his son Henry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suffolk, Charles Howard, 9th Earl Of 1675 births 1733 deaths Coldstream Guards officers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Charles Howard, 09th Earl of Suffolk Howard, Charles 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons officers Deputy lieutenants of Essex Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies Younger sons of earls