Howard faction

The Howard faction is a powerful court alignment associated with Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and the Boleyn family. Its rise shifts influence away from Katherine of Aragon and her supporters: the faction’s growing presence at court makes family advancement and royal favor increasingly difficult to separate from the struggle over the queen and her daughter’s position.

Composition and Family Ambition

The faction’s interests are presented as dynastic as well as personal. Thomas Howard, the young Duke of Norfolk, is described as lacking the previous generation’s fidelity to Katherine of Aragon and attending instead to his family’s growing power. The Boleyn family shares this alignment: its fortunes are closely bound to the success of the women from its circle who have gained the king’s favor. The narrative thus depicts political influence as something cultivated through family connections and access to the royal household, rather than as a separate public program.

Court Influence and the Queen

The faction’s ascendancy becomes visible in the contrast between its conduct toward Katherine of Aragon and the respect she continues to receive from other courtiers. Noblemen bow to her and listen when she speaks, recognizing her status as queen, while the Boleyns and Thomas Howard avoid her rooms. Outside those rooms, however, they are conspicuous throughout the court. Their absence from the queen’s household and their broad presence elsewhere make the division legible without requiring open confrontation.

The Loss of Wolsey

After Thomas Wolsey’s fall, the Howard faction’s dominance leaves Thomas More as the king’s only trusted adviser in Margaret’s assessment. More is occupied with the king’s correspondence and struggles to find time for his own writing and family. When Margaret asks whether he writes only what the king orders or also gives his own opinions, he answers cautiously, choosing his words carefully in both situations. His wariness suggests the narrow room left for counsel as the faction’s influence grows.

Consequences for Opposition

As Henry VIII appears to promote Henry Fitzroy as an heir, Margaret’s son Montague proposes a response to what he sees as a threat to Katherine of Aragon and Princess Mary. He plans to take Geoffrey Pole to Calais, where Geoffrey could meet Reginald Pole and carry messages to the Pope and Charles V. Montague argues that few powerful courtiers can be expected to challenge the king: the Duke of Buckingham is dead, Thomas Howard is tied to the Boleyn family, and Charles Brandon has been banished from court after speaking against Anne Boleyn. This scheme belongs to the wider political crisis rather than to a direct clash with the Howard faction, but it shows the faction’s prominence shaping the calculations of those who hope to defend the queen and princess.