William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham (1510-12 January 1573) was Lord High Admiral of England under Henry VIII of England, Edward VI of England, Mary I of England, and Elizabeth I of England.
Biography[]
William Howard was the ninth son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, and he was the uncle of Anne Boleyn, serving as Earl Marshal at the coronation of his niece in 1533. He served as a diplomat under King Henry VIII of England, and he took part in the 1544 invasion of Scotland and the burning of Edinburgh, during which he was wounded in the cheek by an arrow. In July of that year, he took part in the siege of Boulogne in France during the Italian Wars. In 1546, he was given command of the Royal Navy as Lord High Admiral, and he received his own manor at Effingham in 1551, making him a baron. In 1552, he became Governor of Calais, and he defended London from rebels in 1554. In 1558, Howard became Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth I of England, serving until 1572, when he resigned due to ill health. He served as Lord Privy Seal until his death in 1573.