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Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

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The Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk by Hans Holbein the Younger, Royal Collection.
Lord High Treasurer
In office
4 December 1522 – 12 December 1546
MonarchHenry VIII
Preceded byThomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Succeeded byEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Personal details
Bornc. 1473
Died25 August 1554 (aged 80–81)
Kenninghall, Norfolk
Resting placeChurch of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham, Suffolk
Spouse(s)Anne of York
(m. 1494 or 1495; died 1511)
Elizabeth Stafford
(m. 1513)
ChildrenHenry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Katherine Stanley, Countess of Derby[1]
Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset
Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon
MotherElizabeth Tilney
FatherThomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was a powerful English nobleman and politician during the Tudor period. He was the uncle of two of King Henry VIII's wives: Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Both of his nieces were executed, and Thomas Howard was deeply involved in the political schemes surrounding these royal marriages.

In 1546, he fell out of favor with King Henry VIII, lost his title of Duke, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He narrowly escaped execution when Henry VIII died in January 1547.

Howard was freed when Queen Mary I, a Roman Catholic, became queen. He helped her secure the throne, but his family’s Catholic ties created tensions with the Protestant royal line, especially when Elizabeth I, Mary’s half-sister, became queen.

  1. Knafla 2008.