Birth of Thomas Howard ~ 4th Duke of Norfolk

Birth of Thomas Howard ~ 4th Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard ~ 4th Duke of Norfolk, was the first nobleman to be exEcuted under Elizabeth I.
He was the premier nobleman of England, the queen’s second cousin and a leading member of the Privy Council.

Thomas Howard was born at Kenninghall, the family home in Norfolk, on 10th March 1536.
Thomas was the first or second of five children of Henry Howard~Earl of Surrey and his wife Lady Frances de Vere.
Thomas’ father Henry Howard, was exEcuted for treason by Henry VIII in 1547.
Thomas was brought up as a Protestant under the care of his aunt the Duchess of Richmond, but a vein of Catholicism was never far below the surface.

On the accession of Mary I in 1553, he was appointed First Gentleman of the Bedchamber, aged just seventeen.
The following year, Thomas became 4th Duke of Norfolk, on the death of his grandfather.
In 1556, he married Mary FitzAlan, but she died in childbirth in the following year.
Their son Philip, was named after Philip II of Spain, who became his godfather.
Thomas then remarried Margaret Audley.
In 1567, following Margaret Audley’s death, Thomas married Elizabeth Leyburne.

On her accession in 1558, Elizabeth I appointed Thomas a Knight of the Garter.
However, Thomas strongly disapproved of the attention Elizabeth was showing to Lord Robert Dudley, whose father had been largely responsible for Thomas’ father’s death.
He also considered Secretary of State William Cecil to be ‘low born’.

In November 1559, he was appointed Lieutenant-General of the North.
In 1560, Marie de Guise, Queen Regent of Scotland died.
Mary Queen of Scots husband King Francis II had also died, and it seemed likely that Mary would be returning to Scotland.

Thomas was then given charge of the investigation into the murder of Mary Queen of Scots husband, Henry Lord Darnley.
He was now aged thirty-two and recently widowed after Elizabeth Leyburne’s death.
The political objective to the investigation, was to avoid implying Mary’s guilt.
This left the door open for her restoration at some point in the future, if circumstances should change.

Initially Thomas expressed little sympathy for Mary, but his attitude changed in 1568, after it was suggested to him by William Maitland of Lethington, Mary’s chief ally at the Scottish court, that he might marry her.

The marriage would give Thomas the upper hand at court, as he was by now the bitter rival of Elizabeth’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
This marriage scheme was widely supported by members of England’s Catholic nobility, some of whom assumed that Thomas was willing to lead a revolt against Elizabeth.

In October 1569, following the news that the north had risen in revolt, Thomas was arrested on suspicion of treason.
However, the rebellion having by then been put down, Thomas was released for lack of evidence.
His intention to marry Mary, though objectionable to Elizabeth, was not in itself treasonable.

Thomas began to secretly correspond with Mary, and they were soon writing in affectionate terms.
Mary wrote:
“I will live and die with you.
Neither prison the one way, nor liberty the other, nor all such accidents, good or bad, shall persuade me to depart from that faith and obedience I have promised to you”.
Mary also embroidered a pillow for him, with the words ‘virescit in vulnere vultus’ ‘Courage grows strong at a wound’
This was to denote that her courage was growing in adversity.
Mary saw Thomas as her knight in shining armour.

Although they never met, Thomas sent Mary a beautiful diamond.
Mary wore it secretly until ‘both the diamond and she herself could belong to him’.
Mary in turn, sent Thomas a miniature of herself set in gold.
Thomas proposed, and they became secretly betrothed.
Mary told Thomas:
“I pray you my good lord trust none that shall say that I ever mind to leave you . . . I remain yours till death.
As you please command me, I will for all the world follow your commandment, so you be not in danger for me”.

In June 1569, Thomas wrote to Queen Elizabeth admitting that, without her consent, he had held discussions to marry Mary, although he had always intended to ask for her approval.
He then promised to never to deal in the marriage again.
However, this did nothing to stop him continuing to secretly correspond and to exchange presents with Mary.

Thomas was re-arrested in September 1571, when it emerged that he was deeply implicated in the Ridolfi Plot.
This took its name from Roberto di Ridolfi, a Florentine merchant who tried to persuade the Pope and Philip II, king of Spain, to invade England and replace Queen Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots.

The evidence against Thomas was now far more compelling than it had been in 1569-70.
It was clear that it remained his intention to marry Mary, despite Elizabeth’s objections.
It was also said, that he planned to marry his daughter Margaret Howard, to Mary’s son James.
It was also apparent that he had engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow ~ and perhaps kill, Elizabeth.

At his trial for treason on 16th January 1572, which lasted twelve hours, Thomas naturally pleaded his innocence.
However, a jury of twenty-six of his fellow nobles, unanimously found him guilty, whereupon he was sentenced to death.

Shortly before seven in the morning on Monday, 2nd June 1572, 36 year old Thomas Howard, 4th duke of Norfolk, was led the short distance from the Tower of London, to a specially erected scaffold on Tower Hill.
After mounting the steps, he addressed the crowd, which had assembled to witness his exEcution.

Despite admitting that he deserved to die, he declared himself to be partly innocent.
Thomas ended his speech by denying that he was a Catholic, as was commonly believed.
After bidding a tearful farewell and forgiving the public hangman, the duke removed his doublet and laid his head on the block.
Before a silent crowd, which had been urged not to shout out to avoid ‘frighting’ his soul, Thomas’ head was severed with a single stroke.

In the immediate aftermath of his exEcution, Elizabeth was reportedly ‘somewhat sad’ at the duke’s death.
By the standards of the time, it is hard to argue that Thomas was unfairly treated.
He had indisputably plotted treasonably against the English Crown, and had lied when accused of planning to marry Mary.
To the last, Thomas confirmed his adherence to the Protestant faith, admitting only that he had dealt with Ridolfi more than he previously admitted.

Mary Queen of Scots was extremely lucky to survive ~ this time.
Mary wept bitterly on hearing that Thomas had been sentenced, and wrote vitriolic letters to Elizabeth, praying and fasting on alternate days for his deliverance ~ to no avail.

? Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk c. 1565 ~ unknown artist.
National Portrait Gallery.