Henry Howard: A Life Cut Short

Henry Howard was born c. 1517, the oldest son of Lady Elizabeth Stafford and Thomas Howard. Both of his parents were of noble blood. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and his father, Thomas, was — at the time — the Earl of Surrey and the son of the Duke of Norfolk. At the time, both of these families were still in good standing with King Henry VIII and were two of the most powerful families in the country.

Hans Holbein’s portrait of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (c. 1541–2)