Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3d duke of

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3d duke of,

1473–1554, English nobleman, prominent in the reign of Henry VIIIHenry VIII,
1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII. Early Life

In his youth he was educated in the new learning of the Renaissance and developed great skill in music and sports.
..... Click the link for more information. ; son of Thomas Howard, the 2d duke. He married (1495) a daughter of Edward IV and thus became brother-in-law to Henry VII. He fought (1513) against the Scots at Flodden and became (1514) earl of Surrey when his father was made duke of Norfolk. After his first wife's death he married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Stafford, 3d duke of Buckingham. He served (1520–21) as lord lieutenant of Ireland. Succeeding his father as lord high treasurer in 1522 and as duke of Norfolk in 1524, Norfolk led the opposition to Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey. He supported Henry VIII's divorce from Katharine of Aragón and his marriage (1533) to Norfolk's niece Anne Boleyn. Later he presided (1536) at the trial and execution of Anne. Although Norfolk conducted the campaign against the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536), he remained Catholic. He was an enemy of Thomas CromwellCromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex,
1485?–1540, English statesman. While a young man he lived abroad as a soldier, accountant, and merchant, and on his return (c.1512) to England he engaged in the wool trade and eventually became a lawyer.
..... Click the link for more information.  and instrumental in bringing about his fall (1540). After the execution in 1542 of another of his nieces, Catherine HowardHoward, Catherine,
1521?–1542, fifth queen consort of Henry VIII of England. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and the niece of the powerful Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk. Henry married her soon after his divorce from Anne of Cleves in 1540.
..... Click the link for more information. , Henry's fifth queen, Norfolk's influence waned, and he was forced back into the position of a mere military commander. In 1546 he and his son Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, were charged with treason. Surrey was executed, but Norfolk was saved by the death of the king. He was released (1553) from prison on the accession of Mary I and restored to his dukedom. He successfully led the forces against the rebellion (1554) of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the younger.