On this day in Tudor history, 12th January 1573, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, died at Hampton Court Palace. The diplomat, soldier and naval commander was buried at Reigate Church.

Howard was born in around 1510 and was the fourth son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Agnes Tilney, making him a half-brother of the powerful Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and the half-uncle of Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

He was educated at Cambridge before joining the royal court, beginning his career there as Anne Boleyn rose to power. In October 1532, he accompanied Henry VIII and Anne, who had just been raised to the peerage as Marquess of Pembroke, on their trip to France to gain King Francis I’s support for their union. Then, in 1533, following Anne’s marriage to the king, he filled in as Earl Marshal, for her coronation celebrations, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk being in France at the time.