- William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham
William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham (c. 1510–1573), English Lord High Admiral, was the son of
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Agnes Tilney (d. May, 1545), daughter of Hugh Tilney of Boston and Eleanor Tailboys. Agnes was Elizabeth Tilney's first cousin.He was popular with
Henry VIII of England , and was deputyEarl Marshal at the coronation ofAnne Boleyn . Anne was daughter to his elder half-sisterElizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire .William was sent on missions to Scotland and France. But in 1541, William was charged with abetting
Catherine Howard , his niece and fifthQueen consort of Henry VIII, in committing adultery, and was convicted of misprision of treason, but pardoned.He was made governor of
Calais in 1552 andLord High Admiral in 1553. He was created Baron Howard of Effingham in 1554 for his defence ofLondon in the rebellion ofThomas Wyatt the younger againstMary I of England .He befriended the Princess Elizabeth Tudor, but his popularity with the navy saved him from the resentment of Mary. When the princess became Queen Elizabeth I, William had great influence with her and filled several important posts.
William married Margaret Gamage, daughter of Sir Thomas Gamage and Margaret St. John. His son Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham is famous in English naval history and was created
Earl of Nottingham . The later Earls of Effingham descended from his younger son William Howard. His daughter Douglas Howard [sic] was born in 1545, married firstJohn Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield of Butterwick , secondly (in secret)Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and thirdlyEdward Stafford .His descendant (through his son William)
Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham (d. 1695), inherited the barony of Howard of Effingham on the death of his cousin,Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Nottingham, 4th Baron Howard of Effingham in 1681.Francis' son,
Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham (1683–1743) was created earl of Effingham in 1735. This earldom became extinct on the death ofRichard Howard, 4th Earl of Effingham in 1816 but was created again in 1837 in favour ofKenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham (1767–1845) another of his descendants, who had succeeded to the barony of Howard of Effingham in 1816.Whitgift School currently stands on the site of the former estate of the family, and a model of HMS "Ark Royal" adorns the clock tower to commemorate this. A full-length portrait of Effingham, byMytens , hangs above the fireplace in theBiliards Room atNostell Priory , home of the currentLord St Oswald , and a National Trust property, near Wakefield,West Yorkshire .References
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