He went abroad with his family shortly afterward, for reasons unknown; he claimed later that he was performing tasks for King Charles I. When Charles I was executed, Lord Stafford's estates were seized because of his recusancy and royalism. While abroad he was imprisoned in Heidelberg for a year; the reasons are not quite known, but his enemies later claimed it was for immorality. (He seems to have been arrested twice in Heidelberg, the imprisonment coming from the first arrest; on the second arrest he seems to have been able to prove his innocence.) He was restored to his estates at the Restoration. During this time he was in constant legal disputes with his family, with whom he did not get along well.
William came to misfortune due to a man named Titus Oates, who fabricated a story about a Catholic plot to assassinate King Charles II. He was questioned by the King's Council, naming dozens of Catholics as involved in the matter. Some of the accused were easily acquitted, and Oates was not exactly a reputable witness, but he had an extraordinarily good memory, and thus was never caught out in a contradiction. The list of Catholics is quite impressive; it would have been the most astounding political conspiracy of all time, and included many of the notable names of the day (e.g., Samuel Pepys, a Member of Parliament known today for his famous diary). Oates misstepped when he accused the Queen herself; King Charles subjected him to a personal interrogation, and despite Oates's extraordinary consistency, he was able to catch him claiming things that could only be lies. Furious, the King had him arrested -- but Oates was let out several days later by Parliament, who gave him an apartment in Whitehall and a pension, and pressed forward. At least fifteen people were executed on Oates's testimony, including Viscount Stafford: his estates were seized and he was sent to the Tower of London in 1678. He was impeached by the House of Commons for treason in 1680. He was not allowed counsel, and was apparently not a good speaker. He was then executed on 29 December 1681. He was sixty-eight years old.
[Anthony van Dyck's painting of William Howard]The Popish Plot was eventually discredited, of course. Even while all this was going on with Lord Stafford and others, Oates was ordered to vacate his apartment, and, when he refused, he was fined and imprisoned for sedition. When James II came to the throne, he had Oates tried for perjury; Oates was convicted, of course, and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus being whipped in public five days a year for the rest of his life. Not a fan of perjurers, James II. When William and Mary took the throne in 1689, however, he was pardoned and given a pension again.
