Hon. Hubert John Edward Dominic Howard (23 December 1907 – 17 February 1987) was an English intelligence officer from 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 ...

who lived in Italy.

Early life

Howard was born 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 ...

, on 23 December 1907. He 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 ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He was the third of five sons of the diplomat Sir Esmé William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Penrith, by his wife, Lady Isabella Giovanna Teresa Gioachina Giustiniani-Bandini. Among his brothers were

Francis Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Penrith Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

and journalist Henry Howard. His father later served as His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America from 1924 to 1930. His father was the fourth son of MP Henry Howard of

Greystoke Castle Greystoke Castle is in the village of Greystoke, Cumbria, Greystoke west of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in the county of Cumbria in northern England. (). It is owned by the Howard family and is a private residence including a castle and family est ...

(eldest son of Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard, a younger brother of

Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk (21 November 1765 – 16 March 1842), was a British peer. Early life Howard was the son of Henry Howard (1713–1787) by his wife Juliana Molyneux, daughter of Sir William Molyneux, 6th Baronet (die ...

). and the former Charlotte Caroline Georgiana Long (eldest daughter of Henry Lawes Long of Hampton Lodge and Lady Catherine Walpole, a daughter of

Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, Knight of the Bath, KB (1701 – 31 March 1751), was a British Peerage, peer and politician, styled Lord Walpole from 1723 to 1745. Origins He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the Ki ...

). His maternal grandparents were Sigismondo Niccolo Venanzio Gaetano Francisco Giustiniani-Bandini, 1st Prince Bandini-Giustiniani and 8th Earl of Newburgh and Maria Sophia Angelica Massani (daughter and co-heiress of Cavaliere Giuseppe Maria Massani of Rome).

Career

Early in 1940, Howard volunteered for the British expeditionary force to Finland. In 1941, he was assigned to the Allies' Psychological Warfare Branch (PWB) in Italy, with which he served as an intelligence officer throughout the Italian campaign.

Personal life

On 17 September 1951, Howard was married to Lelia Calista Ada

Caetani The House of Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family, originally from the city of Gaeta, connected by some to the lineage of the lords of the Duchy of Gaeta, as well as to the patrician Gaetani of the Republic of Pisa. It pla ...

(1913–1977), painter and plantswoman, the only daughter of Marguerite (née Chapin) Caetani and the noted composer Roffredo Caetani, 17th Duke of Sermoneta and 8th Prince of

Teano Teano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's cathedral is ...

, who was the last of her 1,000-year-old family line. There were no children of the marriage. His wife died on 11 January 1977. Howard died ten years later on 17 February 1987, aged 79. The couple continued the restoration of the Caetani family's garden at their estate of Ninfa,

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, which Lelia had inherited on the death of her brother, who died on the Albanian front in 1940. The couple transformed it into one of the most widely admired gardens in Italy. The garden is laid out among the romantic ruins of a small castle and village which had been abandoned in 1381, set on the edge of the

Pontine Marshes 250px, Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain The Pontine Marshes ( , ; , formerly also ; [] by Titus Livius, [] and [] by Pliny the Elder''Natural History'' 3.59.) is an approximately quadrangular area of former marshland ...

south of Rome. Today over 10,000 shrubs, plants and flowering trees grow among the medieval ruins and a lake formed by damming the river Ninfa. The garden owes little to the formal Italian style, but is developed in an English tradition of plantsmanship and painterly sensitivity. Ninfa has been described as "the most romantic garden in the world". Ownership of the garden was transferred to the Roffredo Caetani Foundation, named after the father of Lelia Howard, which continues to manage the garden today. It is open to the public at set times from April to November.Charles Quest-Ritson, ''The Most Romantic Garden in the World'', 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Hubert John Edward Dominic 1907 births 1987 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers English landscape architects English gardeners English landscape and garden designers English people of Italian descent People educated at Downside School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Younger sons of barons

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubert of Liège (or Hubertus) (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and m ...

British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Italy