Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire

For other people named Thomas Howard, see Thomas Howard (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable The Earl of Berkshire
Coat of arms of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire
Born	8 October 1587 Saffron Walden, Essex
Died	16 July 1669(1669-07-16) (aged 81)
Spouse	Lady Elizabeth Cecil
Children	Charles Howard, 2nd Earl of Berkshire Lady Mary Howard Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire Henry Howard William Howard Sir Robert Howard Lady Elizabeth Howard Philip Howard Lady Frances Howard James Howard Algernon Howard Edward Howard Lady Diana Howard
Parent(s)	Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk Catherine Knyvet.

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire (8 October 1587 – 16 July 1669) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1605 and 1622. He was created Earl of Berkshire in 1626.

Life

Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Howard was born in Saffron Walden, Essex, the second son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and his wife Catherine Knyvet. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge.[1] He was made a knight of the Bath in January 1605, when Prince Charles was created Duke of York.[2] He then joined the embassy of his kinsman Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham to Spain.[2] In November 1605, although underage, he was elected Member of Parliament for Lancaster in a by-election.[2]

Howard was elected MP for Wiltshire in 1614.[2] In 1621 he was elected MP for Cricklade.[2] In 1621 he was created Baron Howard of Charlton, Wiltshire and on 7 February 1626, he was created Earl of Berkshire.[3] He inherited the Charlton Park estate in Wiltshire from his mother.[2]

Howard held a large number of local offices and was Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1628.[2] He joined the Privy Council in 1639.[2] At the start of the English Civil War he was imprisoned by parliament, charged with attempting to execute the king's commission of array in Oxfordshire.[4] He was subsequently released, according to Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon because he was an ineffectual man 'that could do no harm any where'.[5] He joined the king at Oxford, where he became tutor to the Prince of Wales.[2] In 1646 Howard was with the Prince of Wales in Jersey, but did not accompany him to France. Instead he went to Holland and then returned to England, where he compounded with Parliament for his estate in 1649.[2]

After the Restoration of Charles II Howard rejoined the Privy Council.[2] He died in July 1669, reportedly of a fall, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.[2]

Family

Howard married Lady Elizabeth Cecil, daughter and co-heir of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter in 1614. They had thirteen children:

• Charles Howard, 2nd Earl of Berkshire (1615–1679).
• Lady Mary Howard (1616–1679)
• Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire (1619–1706).
• Henry Howard (playwright)
• William Howard, grandfather of 11th Earl of Suffolk and 4th of Berkshire
• Sir Robert Howard (1626–1698)
• Lady Elizabeth Howard, married John Dryden
• Colonel Philip Howard (1629–1717)
• Lady Frances Howard, who married Conyers Darcy, 2nd Earl of Holderness
• James Howard
• Algernon Howard
• Edward Howard[6]
• Lady Diana Howard (1636–1713)

References

1. "Howard, Thomas (HWRT598T2)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. "History of Parliament 1604-29: HOWARD, Sir Thomas". Retrieved 31 October 2023.
3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Berkshire, Thomas Howard" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
4. "Historical Collections of Private Passages of State: Of the King's Commission of Array". British History Online. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
5. Napier, Henry Alfred (1858). Historical Notices of the Parishes of Swycombe and Ewelme in the County of Oxford. p. 426.
6. "Howard, Edward (fl.1669)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Parliament of England
Preceded by Sir Thomas Hesketh Thomas Fanshawe	Member of Parliament for Lancaster 1605–1611 With: Thomas Fanshawe	Succeeded by Thomas Fanshawe William Fanshawe
Preceded by Sir Francis Popham John Thynne	Member of Parliament for Wiltshire 1614 With: Sir Henry Poole	Succeeded by Sir Francis Seymour Sir Edward Bayntun
Preceded by Sir Thomas Monson Sir John Eyre	Member of Parliament for Cricklade 1621–1622 With: Sir Carew Reynell	Succeeded by Sir William Howard Sir Neville Poole
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Banbury	Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire 1628–1646 With: The Earl of Banbury 1628–1632	English Interregnum
	Custos Rotulorum of Oxfordshire 1628 – 1646, 1660	Succeeded by The Viscount Falkland
Honorary titles
English Interregnum	Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex 1660–1662 With: The Earl of Dorset	Succeeded by The Duke of Albemarle
Peerage of England
New creation	Earl of Berkshire 1626–1669	Succeeded by Charles Howard
	Viscount Andover 1622–1669
	Baron Howard of Charlton (descended by acceleration) 1621–1640