[1] Howard was one of the twelve peers who signed a petition in August 1640, opposing Charles I's expedition into Scotland.
He was one of the ten Lords selected to attend the Westminster Assembly of Divines along with 20 Commoners as lay assessor, and was often employed in negotiations with Scottish officials.
After the abolition of the House of Lords in 1649, he sat in the Commons as member for Carlisle and served on the council of state.
[6] Howard married Mary Butler, daughter of John Boteler and Elizabeth Villiers, at York House on 30 November 1623.
[7] His wife's mother was the half-sister of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, to whom Howard was deemed to have owed his elevation to the peerage.