Lord William Howard (19 December 1563 – 7 October 1640) was an English nobleman and antiquary, sometimes known as "Belted Will" or "Bauld (bold) Will".
Early life
Howard was born on 19 December 1563 at Audley End, Essex, the fourth and last child of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife, Margaret Audley. His older siblings were Elizabeth, who died as a child, Thomas and Margaret. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Audley, Baron Audley of Walden and his second wife Elizabeth Grey. His paternal grandparents were Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and his wife Frances de Vere. On his father's side, William had an older half-brother, Philip Howard, who was also William's second cousin (because Philip's mother, Mary FitzAlan, and Margaret Audley were first cousins). After his mother's death in January 1564, William's father married, thirdly, Elizabeth (née Leyburne) Dacre (widow of Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre and the eldest daughter of James Leyburne of Cunswick).
Howard's father, a Roman Catholic with a Protestant education, was arrested in 1569 for his involvement in intrigues against Queen Elizabeth I, primarily due to the Duke's intention to marry Mary I Stewart, Queen of Scots. Although the Duke was released in August 1570 after no evidence could be found against him, he soon became involved in the Ridolfi Plot to overthrow Elizabeth, release to Mary and install her on the English throne, and, after marrying her and becoming king consort, restore Catholicism to England. He was arrested again in September 1571 when his involvement in the conspiracy was discovered. Norfolk was tried for high treason and sentenced to death in January 1572; he was executed in June of that year, when William was eight years old. After his father's death, William and his siblings Philip, Thomas, and Margaret were left in the care of their uncle, Henry Howard, who also took charge of their education. William and his siblings lived with their uncle at Audley End during this time. Due to his father's execution, much of his paternal family's property was forfeited. However, William and his siblings and their older half-brother Philip recovered some of the forfeited estates.
Howard's paternal grandparents were Henry Howard, styled Earl of Surrey (the eldest son of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk) and Frances de Vere (third daughter of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford and, his second wife, Elizabeth Trussell, daughter and heiress of John Trussell). Howard was a learned and accomplished scholar, praised by William Camden, to whom he sent inscriptions and drawings from relics collected by him from the Roman wall, as "a singular lover of valuable antiquity and learned withal." Walter Scott referred to him as "Belted Will" in the Lay of the Last Minstrel.
Being suspected of treasonable intentions together with his half-brother, Philip, Earl of Arundel (husband of his sister-in-law Anne Dacre), Howard was imprisoned in 1583, 1585, and 1589. He joined the Church of Rome in 1584, both brothers being dispossessed by the queen of a portion of their Dacre estates, which were, however, restored in 1601 for a payment of £10,000.
In 1603, on the accession of James I to the English throne, Howard was restored in blood. In 1618 he was made one of the commissioners for the Scotland/England border, and performed services in upholding the law and suppressing marauders.
Personal life
On 28 October 1577, Howard married his step-sister Elizabeth Dacre, third daughter of Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre and the former Elizabeth Leyburne. She was also the sister and co-heiress of George Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre. After Elizabeth's father died, her mother married his father in 1566. Together, Elizabeth and William were the parents of:
- Philip Howard (b. 1581), who married Margaret Carryl (–), daughter of John Carryl of Harting.