Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk

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

The Duke of Norfolk
Spouse(s)	Mary Mordaunt
Noble family	House of Howard
Father	Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk
Mother	Anne Somerset
Born	11 January 1655
Died	2 April 1701

Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk, KG PC Earl Marshal (11 January 1655 – 2 April 1701) was a politician and soldier. He was the son of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk and Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester and Elizabeth Dormer. He was summoned to the House of Lords in his own right as Baron Mowbray in 1678.

He married Mary Mordaunt, the only daughter and heiress of the 2nd Earl of Peterborough. They divorced in 1700 and he died without children. He was succeeded by his nephew, Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk.

He was rarely on good terms with his father, particularly after 1677 when his father married Jane Bickerton, his mistress of many years, causing a violent family quarrel.

Like almost all the Howards he was a devout Roman Catholic; but during the anti-Catholic hysteria engendered by the Popish Plot he publicly conformed to the Church of England. There is little doubt that this was simply a device to save the family estates, and seems to have succeeded; although his father was charged with recusancy in 1680, the charge did not proceed. While the senior Howard line survived unscathed, their cousin William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, was executed for his supposed part in the Plot in December 1680. Henry as Baron Mowbray sat as one of the peers who tried him. It was a sign of some moral courage and independence, given the anti-Catholic feeling in the country, that he voted Not Guilty; this was more notable since according to John Evelyn, of all Stafford's extended family in the House of Lords, (eight of them in all), he was the only one to do so.

On 20 June 1685, he was appointed Colonel of the Suffolk Regiment, which at the time was called the Duke of Norfolk’s Regiment of Foot. He was created a Knight of the Garter in the same year. As a man "all-powerful in his Dukedom" he used his influence in the 1685 General Election to return members entirely loyal to the Crown. By 1688, however, he was on bad terms with James II, openly disapproving of his aggressive policy of conversion. When asked to question his constituents on whether they favoured repeal of the Test Act, he replied bluntly that he knew that all those in favour of repeal would fit comfortably in one coach. When asked to replace the magistrates in his area with more compliant ones he simply refused and prudently went to France, but returned in time to welcome the Glorious Revolution.

The first HMS Norfolk was named after him.

He served as a Privy Councillor under William III and Mary II in 1689. At first, he refused to take the oath necessary to sit in the House of Lords, since although he had publicly conformed to the Anglican rite, it was no secret that he remained a Roman Catholic at heart; but after a few months he subscribed to the oath.

His private surgeon was Thomas Greenhill.

Ancestry

Family of Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk

16. Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel               8. Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel                       17. The Hon. Anne Dacre               4. Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel                             18. Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury               9. Alethea Talbot, 13th Baroness Furnivall                       19. Mary Cavendish               2. Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk                                   20. Esmé Stuart, 1st Duke of Lennox               10. Esmé Stuart, 3rd Duke of Lennox                       21. Catherine de Balzac               5. Lady Elizabeth Stuart                             22. Gervase Clifton, 1st Baron Clifton               11. Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton                       23. Katherine Darcy               1. Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk                                         24. Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester               12. Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester                       25. Lady Elizabeth Hastings               6. Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester                             26. John Russell, Baron Russell               13. The Hon. Anne Russell                       27. Elizabeth Cooke               3. Lady Anne Somerset                                   28. Robert Dormer, 1st Baron Dormer               14. The Hon. William Dormer                       29. The Hon. Elizabeth Browne               7. Elizabeth Dormer                             30. Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet               15. Alice Molyneux                       31. Frances Gerard

See also

• Dukes of Norfolk family tree
•  
• List of deserters from James II to William of Orange

Political offices
Preceded by The Duke of Norfolk	Earl Marshal 1684 – 1701	Succeeded by The Duke of Norfolk
Military offices
New regiment	Colonel of The Duke of Norfolk's Regiment of Foot 1685 – 1686	Succeeded by The Earl of Lichfield
New regiment	Colonel of The Duke of Norfolk's Regiment of Foot 1688 – 1689	Succeeded by Sir Henry Bellasis
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Duke of Cumberland	Lord Lieutenant of Surrey 1682–1701	Succeeded by The Earl of Berkeley
	Constable of Windsor Castle 1682 – 1701	Succeeded by The Duke of Northumberland
	Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire 1682 – 1701	Succeeded by The Earl of Abingdon
Preceded by The Earl Craven	Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire 1689 – 1701
Preceded by The Earl of Yarmouth	Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk 1683 – 1701	Succeeded by The Viscount Townshend
Preceded by The Lord Cramond	Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk 1689 – 1701
Preceded by The Earl of Berkeley	Custos Rotulorum of Surrey 1689	Succeeded by The Earl of Berkeley
Peerage of England
Preceded by Henry Howard	Duke of Norfolk 1684 – 1701	Succeeded by Thomas Howard
	Baron Mowbray (writ of acceleration) 1677 – 1701