Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel

Philip Howard was born in 1557 at Arundel House in London, the only child of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and Mary FitzAlan, daughter of Henry FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel. His mother died within weeks of his birth, and he grew up among the highest ranks of the English nobility in the reign of Elizabeth I. Through his mother he was heir to the ancient earldom of Arundel and the FitzAlan estates. His father, once among the most powerful peers in the kingdom, was attainted and executed for treason in 1572 after involvement in plots connected with Mary, Queen of Scots. Philip was educated at the University of Cambridge and as a young man became a conspicuous figure at the Elizabethan court, known more for display, tournaments, and a worldly manner of life than for religious seriousness.

In 1571 he was married to Anne Dacre, daughter of Thomas, Lord Dacre of Gilsland. The early years of the marriage were strained, and he largely neglected his wife while he pursued court favour. He succeeded as Earl of Arundel in 1580 on the death of his maternal grandfather. In the early 1580s his life changed. Anne had become a Roman Catholic, and Philip himself was received into the Catholic Church around 1584, influenced by her example and by the climate of recusancy and missionary preaching in England. After his conversion he was reconciled with Anne, adopted a more austere and devout way of life, and withdrew from the Protestant court. As a high-ranking convert he was of particular concern to the Elizabethan government, which regarded Catholic nobles as a political danger in the years of tension with Spain.

In 1585 he attempted to leave England for the Continent without royal licence, hoping to live his faith more freely. He was intercepted at sea, arrested, and confined in the Tower of London, where he remained a prisoner for the rest of his life. In 1589 he was tried for high treason, the charges including that he had caused Mass to be said for the success of the Spanish Armada, and he was condemned to death. Queen Elizabeth never signed the warrant, and the sentence was not carried out. During more than ten years of imprisonment he followed a rule of prayer and penance. His wife was not permitted to visit him for long periods. He and Anne had children, including a son, Thomas, who later succeeded as Earl of Arundel.

Philip Howard died in the Tower of London on 19 October 1595, at the age of thirty-eight, after a period of illness commonly attributed to dysentery following years of confinement. He was first buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower; his remains were later translated to Arundel. He was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast is kept on 19 October. The Catholic cathedral at Arundel in Sussex is dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Philip Howard, and he is venerated as a patron of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.