The second son of the Earl of Carlisle and brother of Lord Morpeth, he was educated at Balliol, Oxford. On leaving, he went to Cuba in the early stages of the rebellion against the Spanish authorities and joined the insurgents in the summer of 1895. Winston Churchill was also in Cuba that year, but rather later.

On his return from Cuba, Howard published an account of his adventures there. When the Matabele rebellion broke out in the spring of 1896, he travelled there to serve as a lieutenant in Robertson’s “Cape Boys”. Frank Rhodes was also involved in the Matabele campaign. In August, Howard was severely wounded in the leg during the attack on Secombo’s stronghold by Colonel Plumer’s column. For a time he was then Private Secretary to Earl Grey. After his return from South Africa he was called to the Bar and worked in the legal profession for a time. He was 27 years of age when he was killed on September 2, 1898, during the battle of Omdurman.