John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk.

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (mid-1420s – August 22 1485) was an English nobleman.

He was the son of Sir Robert Howard (?1385-1436) and the former Lady Margaret de Mowbray (?1391-1459), the eldest daughter of the 1st Duke of Norfolk (of the first creation) (1366-1399) and the former Lady Elizabeth FitzAlan (1366-1425). He was known as "Jack (or "Jock", hence "Jockey") of Norfolk", and had the support of Edward IV of England who made him Constable of Norwich Castle, Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and Treasurer of the Royal Household. He was summoned to Parliament as Lord Howard on 15 October 1470.

For his support of King Richard III during the desposition of King Edward V in 1483, he was created Duke of Norfolk (of the third creation) on 28 June 1483. The first creation of the Dukedom of Norfolk had become extinct on the death of the 4th Duke in 1476, and the second creation had been invalidated by the illegitimisation of the 1st Duke of York (one of the Princes in the Tower, who was also 1st Duke of Norfolk) on 25 June 1483. Norfolk was also created Earl Marshal, and Lord Admiral of all England, Ireland, and Aquitaine.

He was married first to Katherine Moleyns (1424-1465), the daughter of William de Moleyns and Margery Whalesborough; and then to Margaret Chedworth (1436-1494), the daughter of Sir John Chedworth and Margaret Bowett. ^[1] Margaret Bowett's parents were Nicholas Bowett of Rippingale, Lincolnshire, England and Elizabeth La Zouche of Harringworth, Northampton, England.

In a little known but amazing feat, he moved his house from Chelsworth to Stoke, a journey of over 300 miles. The means by which he accomplished this are not known.

He died at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The night before, someone had left him a note warning him that King Richard III, his "master," was going to be double-crossed (which he was):

?Jockey of Norfolk, be not too bold,

For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold.?

He was buried in Thetford Priory, but his body seems to have been moved at the Reformation, possibly to the tomb of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk at Framlingham Church. The monumental brass of his first wife Katherine Moleyns can, however, still be seen in Suffolk.

He was the great-grandfather of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the second and fifth Queens consort, respectively, of King Henry VIII. His daughter, Margaret, by Katherine Moleyns, married Sir John Wyndham. His titles were declared forfeit after his death by King Henry VII, but his son, the 1st Earl of Surrey, was later restored as 2nd Duke (the Barony of Howard, however, remains forfeit). His senior descendants, the Dukes of Norfolk, have been Earls Marshal and Premier Peers of England since the 17th century, and male-line descendants hold the Earldoms of Carlisle, Suffolk, Berkshire and Effingham.

See also

• Dukes of Norfolk family tree

Notes

1. ↑ Margaret Bowett's maiden name is sometimes thought to have been Wyfold, but this is an error of confusion since it was her daughter, Margaret Chedworth, who had originally married Nicholas Wyfold (1420-1456), the Lord Mayor of London, in 1455.

References

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