Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Earl of Surrey | |
|---|---|
Portrait, c. 1546 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1516 or 1517 Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 19 January 1547 (aged 29 or 30) Tower Hill, London, England |
| Cause of death | Execution |
| Resting place | First at the Church of All Hallows, Tower Street, London and then at Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham, Suffolk |
| Spouse | Frances de Vere |
| Children | Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton Jane Howard, Countess of Westmorland Katherine Howard, Lady Berkeley Margaret Howard, Lady Scrope |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Lady Elizabeth Stafford |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Early Modern English |
| Genres |
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| Literary movement | English Renaissance, Petrarchism |
| Signature | |
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person to have been executed at the insistence of King Henry VIII. As a fellow translator and imitator of classical Latin authors, his name is usually associated in literature with that of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, about whom he wrote. Owing largely to the powerful position of his father Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Henry took a prominent part in court life, and served as a soldier both in France and in Scotland. He was a man of reckless temper, which involved him in many quarrels, and finally brought upon him the wrath of the ageing Henry VIII. He was arrested, tried for treason and beheaded on Tower Hill.