Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (12 July 1628 – 13 January 1684) was the second son of
Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of ArundelHenry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, PC was an English noble and the second son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel and Lady Alethea Talbot, later 13th Baroness Furnivall...
and Lady Elizabeth Stuart. He succeeded his brother
Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk was an English noble.He was born to Henry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel and Lady Elizabeth Stuart. The dukedom of Norfolk was recreated and given to him in 1660. The 5th Duke was considered mentally deficient and never married...
after his death in 1677. He had previously been created
1st Baron Howard of Castle Rising in 1669 and
1st Earl of Norwich in 1672, on the latter occasion obtaining the restoration of the office of
Earl MarshalEarl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to him and to his family.
About 1652, Howard married Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of
Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of WorcesterEdward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester , styled Lord Herbert of Ragland from 1628–1644, was an English nobleman involved in royalist politics and an inventor...
and Elizabeth Dormer. In January 1678, he took his seat in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, but in August the first development of the
Popish PlotThe Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
was followed by an Act for disabling Catholics from sitting in either house of
ParliamentThe Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
. He would not comply with the oath and withdrew to
BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
for three years. There he built a house attached to a Franciscan convent and enjoyed freedom of worship. He later gave away the greater part of his library, and grounds and rooms to the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and the Arundelian marbles to Oxford University.
The peerages created for him died out with his grandson the 9th Duke in 1777, though the current
Baron MowbrayBaron Mowbray is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ for Roger de Mowbray in 1283. It was held for a long time by the Mowbray and Howard Dukes of Norfolk. The title was united with the Barony of Segrave in 1368, when John Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham and 5th Baron Mowbray...
descends from the 9th Duke. The 10th and later Dukes of Norfolk, who have inherited the associated peerages and office of Earl Marshal, descend from his brother Charles Howard of Greystoke.