Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk

Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk, was an English nobleman, army officer and courtier born in 1675, the third son of Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk. He served briefly as a member of the Irish House of Commons for Carlow in 1703 and held commissions in the army. In 1706 he married Henrietta Hobart, later famous as Henrietta Howard, whose difficult marriage to Charles shaped much of her early adult life.

The couple sought advancement at the Hanoverian court before George I’s accession, and in 1714 Charles became a Groom of the Bedchamber while Henrietta entered the household of Caroline, Princess of Wales. Their marriage deteriorated amid debt, abuse and separation, while Henrietta became the future George II’s mistress. Charles later served in the Coldstream Guards and succeeded his brother as 9th Earl of Suffolk in 1731. He died on 28 September 1733.

Antonia Hodgson’s The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins presents Charles Howard through the danger he poses to his estranged wife Henrietta Howard, mistress of George II and servant to Queen Caroline. His financial claims and violence turn a damaged aristocratic marriage into part of the novel’s court intrigue, because pressure on Henrietta also threatens the king’s household and those trying to protect her.