Sir Henry Howard (11 August 1843 – 4 May 1921) was a British diplomat who was the first formal British envoy to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

in more than 300 years.

Biography

Henry Howard was the elder son of Sir Henry Francis Howard, also a British diplomat and ambassador, through whom he was a descendant of Lord William Howard, younger son of

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...

. He was a member of the

Howard family The Howard family is an English noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has of ...

, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

.British Mission to the Pope, ''The Times'', 12 December 1914, page 9 As a direct descendant of the 4th Duke of Norfolk and a relative of both 15th Duke and 16th Duke, Sir Henry Howard he had potential rights to inherit the Dukedom of Norfolk, in the event that the main branches of the family became extinct. He joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

as an attaché to the Legation in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1865. He was promoted to Third Secretary in 1869 and to Second Secretary in 1873. While in Washington he was Her Majesty's Agent for British claims under the Treaty of Washington (1871). For this service, he was invested as a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1874, after he had left Washington. He then served in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and, in early 1876, was in London as secretary to a Royal Commission on Fugitive Slaves. After this he was posted back to Washington, then to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

in 1883. In 1885, Howard was promoted again to be Secretary to the legation at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and subsequently held the same post at the legations at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

and

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In 1894, he was appointed Secretary to the embassy at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1896, he was appointed minister to the Netherlands and also to Luxembourg. While at The Hague, Howard was knighted KCMG, in January 1899, and, a few months later, he was named as British co-representative (with Sir Julian Pauncefote) at the Hague Convention of 1899. Sir Henry was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

of 1907. In October 1908 he left

after presenting his letters of recall to Queen Wilhelmina, who conferred on him the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. Some of his furniture and effects were shipped on the Great Eastern Railway Company's ship ''Yarmouth'' which sank with all hands on its way from Hook of Holland to Harwich on 27 October 1908. In December 1914, after the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Sir Henry was appointed "His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on a Special Mission to His Holiness the Pope" (

Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

, who had been elected that September). Sir Henry was accompanied by a member of Foreign Office staff to be Secretary of the mission. This appointment established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See for the first time since 1558 (although the United Kingdom had been intermittently represented at the Vatican during the 19th century by diplomats accredited to Italian states). Sir Henry's instructions, in a letter to him from the Foreign Secretary,

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the Fir ...

, were published in a parliamentary paper (Cd.7736):

You will ... in presenting your letters of credence to his Holiness, and offering him the cordial congratulations of his Majesty the King on the occasion of his election, intimate to him that his Majesty's Government are anxious to put themselves into direct communication with him for the purpose of demonstrating the motives which have governed their attitude since the first moment that the normal relations between the Great Powers of Europe began to be disturbed and of establishing that his Majesty's Government used every effort to maintain the peace of Europe which his Holiness' venerated predecessor had so much at heart.

In August 1916 Sir Henry retired from the Diplomatic Service and was appointed GCMG "in recognition of his long and eminent services, and on the occasion of his retirement." He died in Rome on 4 May 1921.

Family

On 2 October 1867 Henry Howard married Cecilia Riggs, daughter of

George Washington Riggs George Washington Riggs (July 4, 1813 – August 24, 1881) was an American businessman and banker. He was known as "The President's Banker." He was a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Peabody Education Fund. Early life Riggs wa ...

. They had three daughters and two sons. Lady Howard (as she became) died on 3 December 1907.Cecilia Riggs
– thepeerage.com

References

HOWARD, Sir Henry
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 30 May 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Henry 1843 births 1921 deaths Henry Howard People educated at Downside School English Roman Catholics Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Holy See Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of Orange-Nassau Riggs family