Charles Howard, 2nd Earl of Berkshire KB (1615 – April 1679) was an English peer, styled Viscount Andover from 1626 to 1669, the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire was the second son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Catherine Knyvet....

 and his wife Lady Elizabeth Cecil.

Howard was created a Knight of the Bath in 1626. He was elected the MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Oxford

Oxford (UK Parliament constituency)

Oxford was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the city of Oxford in the county of Oxfordshire, and elected two Members of Parliament from its creation in 1295 until 1881...

 in 1640, but was never seated as he was given a writ of acceleration

Writ of acceleration

A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...

 to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 before the beginning of the session. He was a Royalist sergeant-major of horse in 1643, and a Gentleman of the Bedchamber

Gentleman of the Bedchamber

A Gentleman of the Bedchamber was the holder of an important office in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Description and functions:...

 to Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 in exile, from 1658 to 1660. He succeeded his father as Earl of Berkshire in 1669. As an influential member of the Catholic nobility, and staunch supporter of the Duke of York, he was like his cousin William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford

William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford

Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. He was a supporter of the Royalist cause before being implicated in the Popish Plot and executed for treason...

, an obvious target of Titus Oates

Titus Oates

Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...

 during the Popish Plot

Popish Plot

The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...

. More wary than Stafford he fled abroad in November 1678 before any accusation of treason was made and died in Paris the following April.

On 10 April 1637, he married Hon. Dorothy Savage, daughter of Thomas Savage, 1st Viscount Savage. They had one daughter, Anne (c.1650-19 Sep 1682) who died childless. With no male issue, he was succeeded by his brother Thomas

Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire

Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire was an English peer, styled Hon. Thomas Howard until 1679. He was the second son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire....

in 1679.