Howard

Our house logo was designed by Isabella.

Our house is named after St Philip Howard. Our house colour is blue.

Born in the Strand, London, he was the eldest son of Thomas Howard. He was baptised at Whitehall Palace with the Royal Family in attendance, and was named after his godfather, King Philip II of Spain. At the age of fourteen, he was married to his stepsister, Anne Dacre.

In 1569, on 1 October, Philip Howard's father, Thomas Howard, was arrested for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I. His father was executed in 1572,  Philip Howard, became Earl of Arundel in 1580.

Howard, and much of his family, remained Catholics during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when it was very dangerous to do so. They also attempted to leave England without permission. While some might have been able to do this quietly, Howard was second cousin of the Queen. He was committed to the Tower of London on 25 April 1585. He spent ten years in the Tower, until he died. He had asked the Queen as he lay dying to allow him to see his wife and his son, who had been born after his imprisonment. The Queen responded that "If he will but once attend the Protestant Service, he shall not only see his wife and children, but be restored to his honors and estates with every mark of my royal favor." To this, Saint Philip replied, "Tell Her Majesty if my religion be the cause for which I suffer, sorry I am that I have but one life to lose." He refused and died alone in the Tower. He was immediately acclaimed as a Catholic Martyr.

He was buried beneath the floor of the church of St Peter ad Vincula, inside the walls of the Tower. Twenty nine years later, his widow and son obtained permission from King James I of England to move the body to the Fitzalan Chapel located on the western grounds of Arundel Castle. His tomb was moved to the Catholic Arundel Cathedral in 1971 and remains a site of pilgrimage.