Page "Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel" Paragraph 5

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.

While charges of high treason were never proved, he spent ten years in the Tower, until his death of dysentery.

He had petitioned 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.