After two weeks in the Cumberland countryside, hiking with his sons, seeing the families of his brothers and sisters, and taking part in several grouse and snipe shoots, Howard travelled with Isa and the children to spend a few days at London before the four oldest boys began their term at Downside. At the capital, the family went to the theatre, visited the zoo, and took tea with a number of relatives and friends. On 23 September, as Howard had never been to Downside, he and Isa accompanied Esme, Francis, Edmund, and Hubert there, spending two days seeing the school, meeting the head master, and finding out at first hand about the curriculum and religious instruction. Howard and his wife planned to travel to Italy – they could not embark until 18 October – and in the three weeks before leaving, he met with the king, and discussed Swedish and northern European affairs at the Foreign Office with Curzon, Tyrrell, Cecil, and others. He also travelled to Penshurst to talk matters over with Hardinge, then laid up with a broken leg. He conferred with British trade officials and Swedish commercial representatives about encouraging postwar Anglo-Swedish trade.