John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk

     John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk was born in 1421 at Tendring, Essex, England; Howard was a descendant of English royalty through both sides of his family. On his father's side, Howard was descended from Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, the second son of King John, who had an illegitimate son, named Richard (died 1296), whose daughter, Joan of Cornwall, married Sir John Howard (d. shortly before 23 July 1331).[3] On his mother's side, Howard was descended from Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, the elder son of Edward I of England by his second wife, Margaret of France, and from Edward I's younger brother, Edmund Crouchback.² He was the son of Sir Robert Howard and Margaret de Mowbray.² John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk married Katherine Moleyns, daughter of Sir William Moleyns and Margery Whalesborough, before 29 September 1442 at England.² John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk married Margaret Chedworth before 22 January 1467.² John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk died on 22 August 1485 at England; John Howard was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485 along with his friend and patron King Richard. Howard was the commander of the vanguard, and his son, the Earl of Surrey, his lieutenant. Howard was killed when a Lancastrian arrow struck him in the face after the face guard had been torn off his helmet during an earlier altercation with the Earl of Oxford. He was slain before King Richard, which had a demoralising effect on the king. Shakespeare relates how, the night before, someone had left John Howard a note attached to his tent warning him that King Richard, his "master," was going to be double-crossed (which he was):

"Jack of Norfolk, be not too bold, For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold."

However, this story does not appear earlier than Edward Hall in 1548, so it may well be an apocryphal embellishment of a later era.² He was buried at Thetford Priory, Thetford, Norfolk, England; He was most likely moved during the Reformation and may be buried at Framlingham Church.²
     Howard was the great-grandfather of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the second and fifth Queens consort, respectively, of King Henry VIII.

John was an English nobleman, soldier, politician, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom he was slain at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

He was a staunch adherent of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, and was knighted by King Edward IV at the Battle of Towton on 29 March 1461. at an unknown age In the same year he was appointed Constable of Norwich and Colchester castles, and became part of the royal household as one of the King's carvers, "the start of a service to the house of York which was to last for the rest of his life."

In 1461 Howard was High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and during the years 1462-4 he took part in military campaigns against the Lancastrians. In 1467 he served as deputy for Norfolk as Earl Marshal at 'the most splendid tournament of the age when Antoine, count of La Roche, the Bastard of Burgundy, jousted against the Queen's brother, Lord Scales. In the same year he was one of three ambassadors sent to Burgundy to arrange the marriage of the King's sister, Margaret of York, to Charles, Duke of Burgundy. At about this time he was made a member of the King's council, and in 1468 he was among those who escorted Margaret to Burgundy for her wedding.

Howard's advancement in the King's household continued. By 1467 he was a Knight of the Body, and in September 1468 was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household, an office which he held for only two years, until Edward lost the throne in 1470.

According to Crawford, Howard was a wealthy man by 1470, and when Edward IV's first reign ended he went into exile on the continent. In the area around Stoke by Nayland Howard held some sixteen manors, seven of which the King had granted him in 1462. After 1463, he purchased a number of other manors, including six forfeited by John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, the son of his cousin, Elizabeth Howard.

In April 1483 he bore the royal banner at the funeral of King Edward IV.[4] He supported Richard III's usurpation of the throne from King Edward V, and was appointed Lord High Steward. He bore the crown before Richard at his coronation, while his eldest son, the Earl of Surrey, carried the Sword of State. On 28 June 1483 he was created Duke of Norfolk, third creation, the first creation having become extinct on the death of John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, in 1476, and the second creation having been invalidated by Richard's illegitimisation, on 25 June 1483, of Edward IV's second son Richard of York. This left John Howard as heir to the duchy, and his alliance with Richard ensured his acquisition of the title. He was also created Earl Marshal, and Lord Admiral of all England, Ireland, and Aquitaine.²