First Viscount Montagu. Important Catholic loyal to the Queen during the time of the Armada.

The name here is the title Montagu, not the surname. Created viscount on 2-September-1554.

As the Spanish Armada [1] [2] approached England, a `fifth column' uprising of English Catholics was widely expected. The Browne's played a critical role:

`The nobility were reminded of their duty to send lances and light horse for the defense of the Queen's person... The nobles included some of known Catholic sympathies... One Catholic nobleman who was not on the list was Viscount Montague, who had heard of Portsdown beacon being fired as the Armada approached the Isle of Wight... and was already writing to the Privy Council for instructions about putting his horse and foot at the disposal of the Queen. With some embarrassment, next day the Privy Council asked this loyal Catholic to send his forces to Court in the charge of his son, in view of his age and infirmity.' (Whitehead).

The Brownes continued to play an important role in shaping English Catholicism as a `minority' religion:

`The 1560s were a time of uneasy peace when Catholics continued to participate in parish life without supporting the faith by law established. ... the staunchly Catholic family of Anthony Browne, Viscount Montague ... followed a pattern familiar across the nation. Slowly retreating into their private chapels, the Catholic gentry were beginning by the late 1560s to establish the pattern of worship that would characterize English Catholicism.' (Jones).

A page on the history of the Brownes.

Sources:
[TE].
Brags and Boasts, Whitehead.
The Birth of the Elizabethan Age, Jones.

http://www.montaguemillennium.com/familyresearch/h_1592_anthony.htm