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Earl of Surrey Henry Howard
(c. 1517—1547) poet and soldier
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(c. 1517–47).
Grandson of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, the victor of Flodden. In high favour at the court of Henry VIII, he was given the Garter and, at one time, considered as a possible husband for the Princess Mary. But in December 1546 he was accused of treason for quartering the arms of Edward the Confessor and beheaded on Tower Hill on 19 January 1547. Surrey, though clearly proud and indiscreet, was victim of Henry's senile suspiciousness and the machinations of his rival the earl of Hertford (Somerset). He was a poet of some note.
Subjects: Literature
