Sir George Howard (c.1525–1580) was an English courtier, politician, author and diplomat, and the brother of King Henry VIII's fifth queen,

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the se ...

. Howard held offices at court under four monarchs, Henry VIII,

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

, and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

, most notably the office of Master of the Armoury, and undertook several diplomatic missions. A masque written by Howard was produced at court during the reign of Edward VI, and he is mentioned by name in the Langham letter, which describes the Earl of Leicester's entertainment of Queen Elizabeth at

Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England managed by English Heritage; much of it is still in ruins. The castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England; with development through to the Tudor pe ...

in July 1575.

Life

Howard was the third son of

Lord Edmund Howard Lord Edmund Howard ( – 19 March 1539) was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of th ...

(c.1478 – 19 March 1539), the third son of

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Du ...

by his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. Lord Edmund Howard was reputed a spendthrift who wasted the lands he obtained through his first marriage to Joyce Culpeper, the daughter and coheir of Sir Richard Culpeper of

Oxen Hoath Oxon Hoath is a listed building, Grade II* listed Châteauesque, Châteauesque-style former manor house with 73 acres (29½ hectares) of grounds at West Peckham, Kent. The spellings Oxenhoath, Oxen Hoath and Oxonhoath are common alternatives. The ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and 'fled abroad to avoid his creditors', leaving his children by her to be brought up by relatives. It thus seems likely that Sir George, like his sister Katherine, later Queen

Katherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the ...

, spent part of his early life in the household of his step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Howard's father died on 19 March 1539, 'overwhelmed by debts'. However Howard's financial situation was alleviated in 1540 when his sister, Katherine, married King Henry VIII as his fifth wife. The King granted Howard a pension of 100 marks, several manors, and, together with his brother Charles, a licence to import Gascon wine.. On 13 February 1542, however, Howard's sister Katherine was executed for treason, and Howard turned to soldiering, serving as a captain at Boulogne in 1546, and as a

standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crow ...

in 1547, for which latter service his 'forward courage' was noted and he was knighted by

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

on 28 September 1547. Howard campaigned again in Scotland in 1548, and was sent on a diplomatic mission to King

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...

in May 1551.. Howard sat as the member for

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

during the first Parliament of King

. His

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

, ''The Triumph of Cupid, Venus and Mars'', was produced at court during the Christmas season of 1552-1553 by George Ferrers. After the young King's death on 6 July 1553, Howard at first joined Northumberland's forces, but is said to have quarreled with Northumberland's son, and speedily taken 50 horse to join the forces supporting Queen Mary. On her accession the Queen at first treated Howard with suspicion, but in January 1554 granted him an annuity of £200. Howard further demonstrated his allegiance by serving with his uncle,

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

, in putting down Wyatt's rebellion in that year. When Norfolk died on 25 August 1554, Howard was chief mourner. Howard was appointed carver to Queen Mary's husband, Philip II of Spain, but was unable to take up the position when the King arrived in England in 1554 with his own entourage of Spanish servants. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

in the same year, and later sat as a member of Parliament for

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in Kent. In 1558 he sat as member for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

. Howard's cousin

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

acceded to the throne in November 1558. Howard was with the court at

when the Queen's favourite, the Earl of Leicester, entertained the Queen there in lavish splendour in July 1575. In the Langham Letter, which describes the Kenilworth entertainment in lively detail, the author refers to Howard as someone with whom he is on friendly terms: 'In afternoons and a nights, sumtime am I with the right woorshipfull Syr George Howard, az good a Gentlman as ony lyves: And sumtime at my good Lady Sydneyz chamber, a Noblwooman, that I am az mooch boound untoo, az ony poor man may be untoo so gracious a Lady'.. He is one of the few courtiers mentioned by name in the Letter. In 1560 he was given the position of

Master of the Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Originally an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, originally housed in the Tower of London from ...

for life and by 1579 the Queen had appointed him a

Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Ushers. Gentleman Ushers as serv ...

. In his latter years Howard lived in Kent, where he served as a Justice of the Peace and was certified by Archbishop

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...

as 'favourable to sound religion'. Howard died in 1580.

Footnotes

References

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External links

* Mention of George Ferrers' production of Sir George Howard's ''The Triumph of Cupid'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, George 1510s births 1580 deaths George Howard (courtier) Culpeper family 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers English knights Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1555 English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 English courtiers Court of Henry VIII Court of Mary I of England Court of Elizabeth I