Question: George Howard, 4th Earl of Suffolk, was the son of which English nobleman and politician?
Context: Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (1559 – 16 April 1594) was an English nobleman and politician.  He was the son of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby and Lady Margaret Clifford.  Ferdinando had a place in the line of succession according to the Will of Henry VIII, after his mother, whom he predeceased.  His sudden death led to suspicions of poisoning amid fears of Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Sir Roger Townshend (c.1544 – 30 June 1590) was an English nobleman, politician, soldier, and knight.  He was the son of Sir Richard Townshend (died 1551) and Katherine Browne.  He spent much of his career in the service of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and Norfolk's son and heir, Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel.  He was knighted at sea on 26 July 1588 during the battle against the Spanish Armada. Henry Howard, 10th Earl of Suffolk (1 January 1706 – 22 April 1745) was the only child of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk and Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk.  He was styled Lord Walden from 1731 to 1733.  He married Sarah Inwen, daughter of Thomas Inwen and Sarah Hucks, on 13 May 1735, but died on 22 April 1745 at age 39 with no surviving issue and no brothers to whom the title could be passed.  The line of Earls of Suffolk back to Henry's great-great grandfather Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk thus died out, and the title passed to a great grandson of the 1st Earl (via the 1st Earl's second son Thomas), Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Berkshire. Earl of Berkshire is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England.  It was created for the first time in 1621 for Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire.  For more information on this creation (which became extinct on his death in 1622), see the Earl of Abingdon and also the Earl of Lindsey.  The second creation came in 1626 in favour of Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Andover.  He was the second son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, second son of the second marriage of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk.  His mother was Katherine, daughter of Sir Henry Knyvett of Charlton in Wiltshire.  Howard had already been created Baron Howard of Charlton, in the County of Wiltshire, and Viscount Andover, in the County of Southampton, in 1622.  These titles are also in the Peerage of England.  Lord Berkshire succeeded to the Charlton estate through his mother in 1638.  He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl.  He had already in 1640 been summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Howard of Charlton.  He had no sons and on his death in 1679 the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Earl.  He represented Wallingford in the House of Commons.  He also died without male issue and was succeeded by his great-nephew, the fourth Earl.  He was the grandson of the Hon. William Howard, fourth son of the first Earl.  In 1745 he succeeded his third cousin as eleventh Earl of Suffolk.  For further history of the titles, see the Earl of Suffolk. George Howard, 4th Earl of Suffolk (c. 17 July 1625 - 21 April 1691).  He was the son of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, styled Hon. George Howard from 1640 to 1688/9. Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, (2 March 1906 – 12 May 1941) was an English bomb disposal expert who was also an earl in the Peerage of England, belonging to the ancient Howard family.  He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917.  He is most famous for being responsible for rescuing a team of French nuclear scientists and the entire world stockpile of heavy water from France to England in the face of the imminent French defeat in 1940. Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke, 2nd Earl of Montgomery (1621 – 11 December 1669), was an English nobleman and politician.  He was the son of Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, and his first wife Susan de Vere.  He succeeded his father in 1649. Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke, 4th Earl of Montgomery KB (1652/53 – 29 August 1683) was an English nobleman and politician who succeeded to the titles and estates of two earldoms on 8 July 1674 on the death of his brother William Herbert, 6th Earl of Pembroke. Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': 'KG', '4': "} (13 August 1584 – 3 June 1640) was an English nobleman and politician. Hugh Courtenay, 4th/12th Earl of Devon, 5th Baron Courtenay (1389 – 16 June 1422) was an English nobleman, son of the 3rd/11th Earl of Devon, and father of the 5th/13th Earl.  The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family.  Authorities differ in their opinions, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.
Answer: Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk