Abstract
Henry Howard was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. When Thomas Howard became Duke of Norfolk in 1524, Henry Howard assumed the courtesy title of Earl of Surrey. At the age of thirteen Surrey entered the household of the Duke of Richmond (the illegitimate son of Henry VIII), where he was educated. In 1532 he married Lady Frances de Vere, and in the same year travelled (with Thomas Wyatt) to France as an attendant of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (who was his cousin); he remained at the French court for more than a year. He took up a military career which culminated in his appointment in 1545 as commander at Boulogne, with the title of Lieutenant-General of the King on Sea and Land. Surrey fell from favour in 1546, when he was charged with placing the arms of Edward the Confessor in the first quarter of his shield, an heraldic impropriety which was absurdly deemed to constitute a claim to the throne. His request for trial by combat was refused, and he was tried in Guildhall on 13 January 1547; he was beheaded on Tower Hill on 19 January, a victim of court politics.
Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Editor information
Copyright information
© 1989 Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Campbell, G. (1989). Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. In: Campbell, G. (eds) The Renaissance (1550–1660). Macmillan Anthologies of English Literature. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20157-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20157-0_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-46475-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-20157-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)