Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk,
KG,
PC,
Earl Marshal (1473 – 25 August 1554) (
Earl of Surrey from 1514, passed down from father on his elevation to Dukedom of Norfolk) was a prominent
Tudor politician. He was an uncle of two of the wives of
Henry VIII:
Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages. After falling from favour in 1546, he was stripped of the dukedom and imprisoned in the
Tower, avoiding execution when the King died. He was released on the accession of
Queen Mary I. He aided Mary in securing her throne, setting the stage for alienation between his
Catholic family and the
Protestant royal line that would be continued by
Queen Elizabeth I.