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Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
,
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheaded, and played a major role in the machinations affecting these royal marriages. After falling from favour in 1546, Norfolk was stripped of his dukedom and imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
, avoiding execution when Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547. He was released on the accession of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, whom he aided in securing the throne, thus setting the stage for tensions between his
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
family and the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
royal line that would be continued by Mary's half-sister,
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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
.


Early life

Thomas was the son of Sir Thomas Howard, later 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443–1524), by his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney (died 1497), the daughter of Sir Frederick Tilney and widow of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, and the grandson of John Howard, 1st Baron Howard, later 1st Duke of Norfolk. Through his great-grandmother Margaret Mowbray, Howard was a descendant of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, the sixth son of King
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
. Through his great-grandfather Sir Robert Howard, of Tendring Hall, Stoke-by-Nayland,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, Howard was descended from Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, the second son of King John, who had an illegitimate son, named Richard (died 1296), whose daughter, Joan of Cornwall, married Sir John Howard (d. shortly July 1331). Likewise, through his ancestor Isabel d'Aubigny, wife of John Fitzalan, 3rd Lord of Clun and Oswestry, Howard was descended from Roger Bigod, the first Lord of Norfolk after the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. In 1483, his father and grandfather were created Earl of Surrey and
Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...
respectively in reward for their loyalty to the Duke of Gloucester, who became King
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
after usurping the throne from his nephews, the sons of
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, and in 1485 the Howards fought on the side of Richard III at the
Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...
, where the 1st Duke lost his life and the Earl of Surrey was badly wounded. As the battle resulted in the accession of Henry VII Tudor, the Howards' loyalty to the losing side resulted in the forfeiture of their titles and most of their properties. Nevertheless, they soon began to be rehabilitated, and in 1489 Thomas' father was restored as Earl of Surrey. In April 1497 his mother died, and in August of that year, by papal dispensation, his father married for the second time Agnes Tilney, Thomas' mother's cousin. Howard was an able soldier, and was often employed in military operations. In 1497, he served in a campaign against the Scots under the command of his father, who knighted him on 30 September 1497. He was made a Knight of the Garter after the accession of his nephew by marriage, King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, and became the King's close companion, with lodgings at court. His first wife, Anne of York, daughter of Edward IV and thereby Henry's aunt, died in November 1511, and early in 1513, Howard married Elizabeth Stafford, the daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Eleanor Percy, and the granddaughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. Through his mother Katherine Woodville, Elizabeth's father was a first cousin to Howard's first wife. On 4 May 1513, he was appointed Lord High Admiral, a position previously held by his brother, Edward Howard, who had died on 25 April, to combat the French navy. Surrey and his sons Thomas and
Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...
had hoped to lead the English expedition against France, but were left behind when the King departed for Calais at the end of June. Shortly thereafter King James IV of Scotland launched an invasion into England (despite being married to Princess
Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...
, sister of Henry VIII) in fulfilment of his
alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
with France, and Thomas along with his brother Edmund, joined their father and the barons Dacre and Monteagle in leading the army, which despite their numerical inferiority, managed to decisively crush the Scottish forces at the Battle of Flodden, near Branxton,
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, on 9 September. The Scots lost thousands of men, and James IV lost his life in the battle. Leading the victorious forces at Flodden gave the Howards enormous prestige both socially and at court, and the Howard coat of arms was changed in honour of the victory, incorporating the Scottish lion pierced through the mouth with an arrow within a ''double tressure flory-counterflory-gules'', an emblem of the Scottish royal arms granted by Scottish kings on rare occasions as a special mark of favour. The grant to Howard was thus a blatant heraldic insult to the kings of Scotland. On 1 February 1514, Howard's father, then Earl of Surrey, was created Duke of Norfolk (technically a new creation, but treated for all practical purposes as a recreation of the forfeited title previously held by his father), and by letters patent issued on the same day, Howard was created Earl of Surrey. Both were granted lands in support of their new dignities, although Henry, ever cautious of rivals, scattered the grants across the realm to prevent a Howard landed base in East Anglia. Over the next few years, the younger Thomas Howard served King Henry VIII in a variety of ways. In September 1514, he escorted the King's sister Mary to France for her forthcoming marriage to King Louis XII of France. In 1517, he quelled a May Day riot in London with the use of soldiers.


Rise to power

On 10 March 1520 Howard was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. By July 1520, he entered upon the thankless task of endeavouring to keep
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in order. His letters contain accounts of attempts to pacify the rival factions of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare and Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde, and are full of demands for more money and troops. At the end of 1521 Surrey was recalled from Ireland to take command of the English fleet in naval operations against France. His ships were ill-provisioned, and his attack consisted of a series of raids near the French coast for the purpose of inflicting as much damage as possible on the French navy. Howard's ships besieged the strategic port of Brest but when he abandoned the siege, he left Vice-Admiral William FitzWilliam on station to blockade the port. The English navy patrolled the
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
coast for the next three months, but was unable to gain a decisive victory even with their Spanish allies. In July 1522, the forces commanded by Surrey burned
Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...
, and over the next few months razed everything around
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
, until the winter caused the fleet to withdraw to England. The sea patrol was abandoned with little achieved. On 4 December 1522, Howard was made Lord High Treasurer upon his father's resignation of the office, and on 21 May 1524, he succeeded his father as Duke of Norfolk. His liking for war brought him into conflict with
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Thomas Wolsey, who preferred diplomacy in the conduct of foreign affairs. In 1523, Wolsey had secured to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk the reversion of the office of Earl Marshal by Howard's father, and in 1525, he was replaced as Lord Admiral by Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond, the King's illegitimate but acknowledged son, who a few years later became Norfolk's son-in-law. Finding himself pushed aside, Howard spent considerable time away from court between 1525 and 1527–28. In the mid-1520s, Howard's niece,
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
, had caught the eye of King Henry VIII, thereby reviving his political fortunes with his involvement in the King's attempt to annul his marriage to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
. By 1529, matters of state were being increasingly handled by Norfolk, his brother-in-law Thomas Boleyn, and the Duke of Suffolk, who pressed King Henry VIII to remove Cardinal Wolsey. In October, the King sent Howard and the Duke of Suffolk to obtain the great seal from the Cardinal. In early 1530, Anne Boleyn was promoting a marriage between her first cousin and eldest son of Norfolk, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and the King's daughter, Princess Mary. The Duke was enthusiastic about the match as it might give him greater political influence at court and put his family closer to the throne. Boleyn may have considered the match to be a way of neutralising the threat Mary posed to the succession of any children Anne might have by the King. But she changed her mind, fearing that the Duke could use the match to support Mary's claim to the throne as well as supporting Catherine of Aragon in the annulment proceedings which were still continuing, and thereby prevent the Church of England's break from Rome. By October 1530, Boleyn persuaded her reluctant uncle to arrange instead for Surrey to marry Frances de Vere, one of the daughters of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford with his second wife, Elizabeth Trussell. In November 1530, Wolsey was arrested but while on his way from
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
to London the Cardinal became seriously ill and died in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. Howard benefited from Wolsey's fall, becoming the King's leading councillor and applying himself energetically in the King's efforts to find a way out of his marriage to Queen Catherine.


Later career

Assisting the King in the annulment of his first marriage, added to his extensive loyalty and services to the Crown, brought Howard extensive rewards in the form of monastic lands in Norfolk and Suffolk, employment on diplomatic missions, and being named a knight of the French Order of St Michael in 1532 and Earl Marshal of England on 28 May 1533. In November of that same year, his daughter Mary married the Duke of Richmond, a union that was politically advantageous to Norfolk. Because as Henry VIII did not yet have a legitimate male heir and Princess Mary had been removed from the line of succession, Richmond was seen by many as a potential heir to the throne. The marriage was never consummated by order of the King due to the youth of the couple, and it was then cut short by FitzRoy's death in 1536. Thomas Howard's marriage to his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Stafford, which had apparently been mutually affectionate at first, deteriorated in 1527 when he took a mistress, Elizabeth Holland (died 1547/8), whom he installed in the Howard household. Lady Elizabeth formally separated from her husband in the 1530s. She claimed that in March 1534, the Duke of Norfolk 'locked me up in a chamber, ndtook away my jewels and apparel'. Howard then moved her to Redbourn, Hertfordshire, where she lived as an actual prisoner with a meagre annual allowance of only £200. She also claimed to have been physically maltreated by Howard and his household servants. On 10 March 1536, the Earl of Surrey's eldest son Thomas was born. On 2 May of the same year, Anne Boleyn and her brother George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford were arrested by order of the King. They were tried in the great hall of the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
. Norfolk presided over the trial as Lord High Steward. The Boleyn siblings were sentenced to death; Rochford was executed on 17 May, and Anne two days later. Following his niece's fall from grace, Howard's power and influence at court waned for a time. In July, the Duke of Richmond, Norfolk's only son-in-law, died at the age of 17 and was buried at Thetford Priory, one of the Howard properties. When the Pilgrimage of Grace broke out in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
and the northern counties in October 1536 in response to the government-sponsored suppression of monasteries and abbeys across England, Norfolk and his eldest son, the Earl of Surrey shared command of the King's forces with George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury. The Howards and Shrewsbury opened negotiations with the main leader of the insurgents, Robert Aske at Scawsby Leys, near
Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
, where Aske had assembled between 30,000 and 40,000 people. The 24 Articles to the King, also called "The Commons' Petition", was given to Norfolk to present to the King. The Duke promised to do so, and also promised a general pardon for the rebels, that
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
would meet in York in a year, and another pardon, this time directed at the abbeys until the Parliament had met. Jesse Childs (a biographer of the Earl of Surrey, Norfolk's son) specifically notes that Henry VIII did not authorise Norfolk to grant remedies for the grievances. The Duke's enemies had told the King that the Howards could put down a rebellion of peasants if they wanted to, suggesting that Norfolk, being Catholic, sympathised with the Pilgrimage. Howard and Shrewsbury were outnumbered: they had between 5,000 and 7,000 men but there were more than 40,000 rebels. Upon seeing their numbers, Norfolk negotiated and made promises to avoid being massacred by insurgent forces. However, the promises of both the King and Parliament were never fulfilled and in January 1537 Bigod's rebellion broke out. In response to this, forces led by Norfolk headed to the north of England, where they carried out a policy of brutal repression on behalf of the King, despite the fact that the Duke himself was a Catholic. In 1539, Norfolk, who was a conservative, was seriously challenging the reformist religious policies of the King's chief minister,
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
. In that year, Henry VIII sought to have Parliament put an end to diversity in religious opinion. On 5 May, the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
appointed a committee to consider questions of doctrine. Although he was not a member of the committee, on 16 May, Howard presented six conservative articles of religion to Parliament for consideration. On 30 May, the Six Articles and the penalties for failure to conform to them were enacted into law, and on 28 June, received royal assent. In February 1540, Norfolk tried to save Thetford Priory from closure, petitioning Henry VIII for the Priory's church to become a collegiate church on the grounds that not only Anne of York, Howard's first wife and aunt to the King, but also the monarch's illegitimate son, the Duke of Richmond, were buried there. The Dean was to be Prior William Ixworth, and the six prebendaries and eight secular canons to be the monks of the former house. The request had no effect. The same request was made to the King by other nobles, and he refused them all; at the same time however, Henry VIII ordered that the dissolution of the monasteries be briefly suspended, so that everyone who wished had time to rebury the remains of their relations. Howard moved those of his own relations to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham. After the dissolution of the monastic church, the lands were given to the Duke."Houses of Cluniac monks: The priory of St Mary, Thetford.", ''A History of the County of Norfolk'' Volume 2. (William Page, ed.) London: Victoria County History, 1906. 363–369. British History Online. 2 September 2022
/ref> On 29 June 1539, Howard, the Duke of Suffolk and Cromwell dined with the King as guests of the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
,
Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...
at Lambeth Palace. During a heated discussion about Cardinal Wolsey, Cromwell charged Thomas Howard with disloyalty; Howard in turn called Cromwell a liar. Their mutual hostility was now out in the open. Cromwell inadvertently played into Howard's hands by taking the initiative in the King's marriage to
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...
. The King's disillusionment with Anne's physical appearance when he met her, and his desire to have the marriage annulled after the wedding had taken place, gave Howard an opportunity to bring down Cromwell. On 10 June 1540 Cromwell was arrested at a Privy Council meeting on charges of high treason, and the Duke of Norfolk snatched the St George's collar (insignia of the Order of the Garter) from Cromwell's shoulders, saying: "A traitor must not wear it". On 9 July, King Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled. By then Catherine Howard, another of the Duke's nieces, had already caught the King's eye. Henry and Catherine were married at a private ceremony at Oatlands Palace on 28 July, the same day that Cromwell was executed. As a result of this marriage, for a time, Howard enjoyed political prominence and material rewards. According to Nicholas Sander, the religiously conservative Howards may have seen Catherine as a figurehead for a fight to restore Catholicism in England. Despite the fact that the King was much in love with Catherine, referring to her as his "rose without a thorn", the marriage quickly came to a disastrous end. While Henry and Queen Catherine were on progress during the autumn of 1541, the religious reformer John Lassells and his sister Mary Hall told Archbishop Cranmer of the Queen's premarital sexual indiscretions. On 1 November 1541 Cranmer revealed Queen Catherine’s extramarital behaviour in a letter to the King, who vented his wrath on the Howard family, accusing them of concealing the Queen's misconduct. Catherine was condemned by a
bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a ...
and was executed on 13 February 1542. Various members of the Duke's family were punished, including his daughter Mary, his stepmother the widowed Duchess of Norfolk, and the latter's son William Howard, who was Thomas's half-brother. Norfolk tried to detach himself from the situation by retiring to his residence at Kenninghall, from where he wrote a letter of apology to the King blaming both his niece and his stepmother for the scandal. However, the French ambassador Charles de Marillac wrote on 17 January 1542, that the Duke had not only escaped punishment, but had apparently been restored to his "full former credit and authority". Howard was appointed Lieutenant-General north of the
River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
on 29 January 1541, and Captain-General in a campaign against the Scots in August 1542. In June 1543, he declared war on France in the King's name and was appointed Lieutenant-General of the army. During the campaign of May–October 1544, he besieged Montreuil, while King Henry VIII captured
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
, before returning home. Complaining of lack of provisions and munitions, Howard eventually raised the siege of Montreuil, and realising that Boulogne could not realistically be held by the English for long, he left it garrisoned and withdrew to
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, for which he was severely rebuked by the King.


Imprisonment and release

During the last years of the reign of Henry VIII, the Seymour family, and the King's last wife, Catherine Parr, supporters of the Reformation were gaining greater power and influence at court, while conservative Norfolk was left politically isolated. Howard attempted to form an alliance with the Seymours by marrying his widowed daughter, Mary to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley. The King gave his approval for the match, but her brother, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, objected strongly, as did the Duchess herself and the marriage did not take place. Howard's eldest son and heir, Henry, Earl of Surrey, was repeatedly imprisoned for rash behaviour and was accused of assuming the royal arms of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
as part of his personal heraldry. Surrey was entitled to bear Edward the Confessor's arms, but doing so was an act of pride, and provocative in the eyes of the Crown. On 12 December 1546 both Norfolk and his son were arrested and sent to the Tower. In the early morning of 14 December, Howard's residence in Kenninghall was raided by Richard Southwell, John Gates and Wymond Carew, looking for evidence of Surrey's treason. Arriving at the house, the men found the Duke's daughter, Mary, his daughter-in-law Frances, who was pregnant with their fifth child, and Norfolk's mistress, Bess Holland, alone in the home. Southwell and his companions arrived, placed men at all the doors and sent for the Duchess of Richmond and Bess Holland, 'who were only just risen', Southwell reported. The fate of Norfolk's personal property is well documented, for the inventories drawn up at the time of his arrest were annotated, as goods were sold or given away. On 24 December, the elder Howard acknowledged that he had "concealed high treason, in keeping secret the false acts of my son, Henry Earl of Surrey, in using the arms of St. Edward the Confessor, which pertain only to kings", and offered his lands to the King. There were also religious motives behind Surrey's fall from grace and Norfolk's imprisonment. The Duke was the premier Catholic nobleman of England and his son was also a Catholic, although he had reformist leanings. Henry VIII, possibly influenced by the Seymours, supporters of Protestantism, believed that Norfolk and Surrey were going to usurp the Crown from his son, the future
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
, to reverse the Reformation and thus return the English Church to papal jurisdiction. Norfolk's family, including his estranged wife, his daughter Mary, and his mistress, Elizabeth Holland, all gave evidence against him. His son was convicted of treason and executed on 19 January 1547, and on 27 January 1547, the Howards, father and son, were attainted by statute. The dying King gave his assent to the Duke's death through royal commissioners, and it was rumoured that he would be executed on the following day. Norfolk was saved by the King's death, in the early morning of 28 January, and the council's decision not to inaugurate the new reign with bloodshed, but remained a prisoner in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
. His estates fell prey to the ruling clique in the reign of Edward VI, for which he was later partly compensated by lands worth £1,626 a year from the Catholic Queen Mary I. Howard remained in the Tower throughout the reign of Edward VI, being released and pardoned along with the Bishop of Winchester Stephen Gardiner, after the accession of Mary in July 1553. He was appointed to the Privy Council, and presided as Lord High Steward at the trial of the
Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...
on 18 August. He was also restored to the office of Earl Marshal and officiated in that capacity at Mary's coronation on 1 October 1553. In Mary's first parliament (October–December of that year), Howard's attainder was declared void, thereby restoring him to the dukedom and its subsidiary titles. Because Norfolk's son Henry Howard was dead, the courtesy title of Earl of Surrey, which had been left vacant since the execution of Henry six years earlier, devolved upon Henry Howard's eldest son Thomas, who was now the Duke's heir-apparent. Shortly after his release, Howard took over the care of his five grandchildren, the Earl of Surrey's children, who up to that time had been under the tutelage of John Foxe (Author of ' ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''). Howard dismissed him (Foxe soon went into exile to various countries in continental Europe to escape anti-Protestant measures taken by Queen Mary). Shortly after dismissing Foxe, Howard reassigned the education of his grandson and heir Thomas, to Bishop Gardiner, now Lord Chancellor to Queen Mary. Shortly afterwards, however, the Duke once again reassigned the education of his heir, and that of his other grandson Henry, this time to the Catholic priest John White who was soon elected to be Bishop of Lincoln. In late 1553, Howard arranged for a marriage between Thomas and Mary FitzAlan, one of the daughters of the
Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...
, with the aim of uniting the two most prominent Catholic families in England. In early 1554 the elderly Norfolk carried out his last service to the Crown by leading some of the forces which put down Wyatt's Rebellion, a group of disaffected Protestant gentlemen who opposed the Queen's projected marriage to
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
.


Death and burial

The Duke died at his Kenninghall residence on 25 August 1554 after several weeks in which his health gradually declined. Norfolk was buried in the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, where his spectacular tomb, richly decorated with religious iconography and with heraldic lions that hold the coats of arms of both the Howard family and the
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
, because Anne of York, the Duke's first wife, was buried in the same tomb. The religious representations on Howard's tomb are of the twelve Apostles and some of the oldest Christian saints. On the south side are St Matthew the Evangelist,
St James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...
, St James the Less and St Andrew; on the west St Peter, the Prophet
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
and St Paul; on the north St Matthias, St Jude Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot (also known as Simon the Canaanite) and St Philip; and on the east St John the Evangelist, Simeon of Jerusalem and St Thomas. Parts of the tomb are believed to be parts of the 2nd Duke's tomb, which was located at Thetford and was destroyed when the Priory was closed. The remains of two other men in the tomb are likely the first and second Dukes. The effigy of Howard is to the left of that of his first wife, rather than the usual right, due to the latter's royal lineage. He was succeeded as Duke and as Earl Marshal by his grandson,
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...
.


Marriage and progeny

Thomas Howard married twice: *First he married the Princess Anne of York (1475–1511), the fifth daughter of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville, and the sister-in-law of King Henry VII. Anne had previously been betrothed to the Austrian Prince
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
, son of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria, but the marriage negotiations were cancelled in 1483, after the death of Edward IV. Thomas and the Princess were distantly related, as both were descendants of King
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
. Howard was descended from Thomas of Brotherton, the fourth son of Edward I, while Anne was descended from King Edward II, Brotherton's half-brother. Arrangements for the marriage between the Princess and Thomas began in March 1484, shortly after she and her six sisters were reinstated at the court of their uncle, Richard III, by an agreement between the King and his sister-in-law, and mother of the girls, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth. The monarch, at that time, promised that his nieces would not be imprisoned in the Tower or any other prison and that they would be placed "in respectable places of good name and reputation", and later be married to "men of noble birth" and given dowry lands with an annual income of 200
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
each. Shortly after the deal was sealed and the princesses arrived at court, the King began searching for suitable husbands for his nieces: for Anne he chose Thomas Howard. By choosing the son and heir of the Earl of Surrey and second-in-line to the Dukedom of Norfolk, he showed his favour to the Howard family. This was a politically advantageous match on both sides. The following year, in 1485, and when Anne and Thomas were still children, Richard III and the Earl of Surrey agreed to the marriage contract, but the King did not have time to formalize the marriage due to the invasion from Wales of the Lancastrian claimant to the throne, Henry Tudor, and then marriage negotiations were suspended following the monarch's death at the Battle of Bosworth. A few years later, Elizabeth of York, eldest sister of the Princess and now wife of the new King Henry VII, resumed negotiations for Anne to marry Thomas. The princess and her future husband had known each other since childhood as both Howard's father and grandfather served at the court of Edward IV. The queen took into account the opinion of her sister and considered that the Howard family were noble enough to qualify for a high marriage, and therefore on 4 February 1495 (according to other sources in 1494) the wedding of Anne and Thomas Howard was celebrated. The wedding took place in Westminster Abbey, and the marriage celebrations took place at the Palace of Placentia. The royal family attended the wedding, and the king also attended a festive mass, but the dowry of 10,000 marks, assigned to Anne by her father was not received by the newlyweds. By order of the queen, the couple were assigned annuity payments in the amount of £120 per year, which were to be made throughout Anne's life or until the death of her mother-in-law: this amount included provision for the maintenance of Anne herself, as well as her servants and seven horses. This pension was granted because the queen did not want to leave Anne dependent on her husband, who due to his circumstances, could not provide the princess with a comfortable existence suitable to her royal rank. Since the groom's father had received only part of the family estate following the Battle of Bosworth, and this had no residence suitable for a woman of royal blood, the newlyweds received the right to use the estates located in the possessions of the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
and the Marquess of Dorset, Anne's nephew and half-brother respectively. In return, the queen required that in the event of the death of Howard's father the Earl of Surrey or his wife (a wealthy heiress), Anne's interests should be taken into account on an equal basis with the interests of her husband. The king allocated his new sister-in-law another £26 per year from Crown lands. By Anne, he had four children, none of whom survived to adulthood. Anne died in November 1511, being buried in the first instance in Thetford Priory, then the burial place and mausoleum of members of the Howard family. When the Priory was closed during the Reformation, her remains were moved to St Michael the Archangel's Church, Framlingham,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. *Secondly, early in 1513, he married Lady Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, by his wife Eleanor Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. Through her paternal grandmother, Catherine Woodville, Elizabeth was a cousin of Howard's first wife. By Elizabeth, he had five children: ** Henry Howard (1516/7–1547), who automatically became Earl of Surrey when his father became 3rd Duke of Norfolk in 1524. In 1532/3 he married Lady Frances de Vere, daughter of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, by whom he had two sons and three daughters:
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...
; Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton; Catherine Howard, who married Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley; Margaret Howard, who married Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton; and Jane Howard, who married Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland. **Catherine Howard (1518–1530), who by 9 December 1529 married Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby (1509–1572). After Catherine's death in March 1530, Derby married a second time to Dorothy Howard, his first wife's aunt. ** Mary Howard (1519–1557), who married, on 28 November 1533, King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy (1519–1536), by whom she had no issue. The marriage was never consummated due to FitzRoy's death a few years later. ** Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon (1520–1582), who married firstly Elizabeth Marney, secondly Gertrude Lyte, thirdly Mabel Burton, and fourthly Margaret Manning.. **Muriel Howard (1521–). Died young As dowager duchess, Elizabeth survived a few years after her husband's death, dying in November 1558. She was buried in the Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
.


Fictional portrayals


Books

Norfolk is an important character in: * The
Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Roman ...
novels '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' and '' The Boleyn Inheritance'' * ''The Man on a Donkey'' by H.F.M. Prescott * ''The Fifth Queen'' by
Ford Madox Ford Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer ( ); 17 December 1873 – 26 June 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals ''The English Review'' and ''The Transatlantic Review (1924), The Transatlant ...
*
Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
's '' Wolf Hall'', '' Bring Up the Bodies'', and '' The Mirror & the Light''


Films and Televisions

* In '' The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933) he was played by Frederick Culley. * In '' The Prince and the Pauper'' (1937) he was played by Henry Stephenson. * In '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), he was played by Nigel Davenport. * In '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Peter Jeffrey took the role. He went on to reprise the role in a 1996 BBC adaptation of
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
's 1881 novel '' The Prince and the Pauper''. * In the 1970 BBC TV series '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', the role was played by Patrick Troughton. * In the 1972 film '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', based on the TV series, he was played by Michael Gough. * Sir Rex Harrison portrayed him in the 1977 adaptation of the Mark Twain novel, '' The Prince and the Pauper''. * Mark Strong portrayed Norfolk in the 2003 ITV feature ''Henry VIII''. * In the 2003 BBC adaptation of '' The Other Boleyn Girl'', he was played by John Woodvine. * In the Showtime series ''
The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...
'' (2007), he was played by Henry Czerny. * David Morrissey played the Duke in the 2008 film '' The Other Boleyn Girl''. * Bernard Hill played the Duke in the 2015 BBC adaptation of
Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
's '' Wolf Hall''. Timothy Spall plays him in the second series, '' Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light''. * Peter Firth played Norfolk, in the 2024 series Shardlake, an adaptation of the series of books of the same name by C. J. Sansom.


Family tree


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Head, David M. ''Ebbs & Flows of Fortune: The Life of Thomas Howard, Third Duke of Norfolk'' (University of Georgia Press, 1995) 360pp. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Attribution

*


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke Of 1473 births 1554 deaths Lord High Stewards Lord high treasurers of England Earls Marshal Lord high admirals of England 303 Thomas Howard, 03rd Duke of Norfolk Earls of Surrey, 302 Barons Mowbray Barons Segrave, *15 Knights of the Garter Life peers created by Henry VIII, Surrey, Thomas Howard, Earl of Prisoners in the Tower of London 15th-century English nobility 16th-century English nobility 16th-century English politicians 16th-century Royal Navy personnel Burials in Suffolk Lords Lieutenant of Ireland