Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey
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Coat of arms of Thomas Howard

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443 – 21 May 1524) was an English soldier and statesman, and son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine de Moleyns, the daughter of William de Moleyns and Margery Whalesborough.

Life

As the Earl of Surrey, Howard fought for King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, following this he was imprisoned for several years before having some titles and estates restored. He continued in the service of the Tudor dynasty. Beginning in 1497, Howard and the English repelled Scottish assaults at Norham Castle, a stronghold of the Bishopric of Durham, among others. In 1502, a treaty was signed between Scotland and England ending hostilities for a time, and Howard was able to rest from his military career for a while. He was appointed Lieutenant General of the North.

In 1511, Lord Surrey was appointed Warden-General of the Northern Marches. In 1513, the Scots invaded England to meet their treaty obligations to France under the Auld Alliance. At the Battle of Flodden Field, the English, under Howard's command, crushed the Scots. With victory, Lord Surrey was restored to his father's title of Duke of Norfolk in 1514, which title had been forfeit since 1485 because of his father's support of Richard.

Burial location

He died in 1524 and was buried in Thetford Priory. The priory was abandoned at the Dissolution of the Monasteries and while some of the Howard family tombs were moved to the St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham it is not known whether his tomb was moved also. Fragments of what is thought to be from his tomb were found during excavations.

Where his body now lies is not known for certain. A monumental brass depicting him was formerly in the Church of St. Mary at Lambeth so his body could have been moved to the Howard family chapel where many members of his family (including Anne Boleyn's mother) were interred.

However, it is known that there are also four coffins in the tomb of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk at St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham, so possibly the 2nd Duke and the 1st Duke of Norfolk were buried in the tomb of their descendant.

Coat of Arms

Augmentation of Honour

To commemorate his victory at the Battle of Flodden Field, Henry VIII granted an Augmentation of Honour to Howard's coat of arms. It is a modification of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland. Instead of its normal rampant position, the lion is shown with an arrow through its mouth. He bore, Gules a Bend between six Cross-crosslets fitchy Argent. For augmentation to be charged on the bend, the Royal Shield of Scotland, having a demi-lion only, which is pierced through the mouth with an arrow.^[1] The arms can still be seen as a quarter in the arms of Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk.

Marriages and issue

1. Elizabeth Tilney, daughter of Sir Frederick Tilney of Ashwellthorpe and Elizabeth Cheney.

• • Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
  • Lord Edmund Howard, father of Catherine Howard, queen consort to Henry VIII of England
  • Henry Howard
  • Edward Howard (admiral)
  • Muriel Howard. Married John Grey, 2nd Viscount Lisle.
  • Lady Elizabeth Howard, wife to Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, mother of Queen Anne Boleyn, and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
  • Richard Howard.
  • Sir John Howard.
  • Charles Howard.

2. Agnes Tilney (1478-1545), daughter of Hugh Tilney of Boston and Eleanor Tailboys, and his first wife's cousin. As Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, she was involved in the fall of her step-granddaughter, Catherine Howard, in 1542.

• • William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham
  • Lord Thomas Howard (1511-1537).
  • Elizabeth Howard (d. 1536). Married Henry Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex and was mother of Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex.
  • Catherine Howard (d. 1554). Married Henry Daubney, 1st Earl of Bridgewater.
  • Dorothy Howard. Married Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby.
  • George Howard.
  • Agnes Howard.
  • Anne Howard. Married John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford.

See also

• Dukes of Norfolk family tree

References

1. ^ Brooke-Little, J.P., FSA [1950] (1978). Boutell's Heraldry, Revised Edition, London: Frederick Warne LTD, p. 125. ISBN 0-7232-2096-4. 

• M.A. Tierney, The History and Antiquities of the Castle and Town of Arundel : Including the Biography of Its Earls, From the Conquest to the Present Time (1834) [Chart V, "Pedigree of Howard"]