Charles Howard of Effingham receives less attention in accounts of the Spanish Armada than Drake or Hawkins. The familiar elderly portrait dates from after the campaign; Effingham was about fifty-two when he commanded in 1588. His experience and Howard family tradition suited a period in which households often transmitted naval expertise without a standardized professional school. The force he led was officially English but included people from Ireland and Scotland as well as ships based in Cornwall. That mixture reveals how loose its identity and organization could be.
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Effingham as the Armada's experienced English commander
Charles Howard of Effingham brought family naval experience and the office of Lord High Admiral to a command that Medina Sidonia accepted with little naval preparation.