Howard has to know he is no longer a king, right?
There are days where it seems like Howard is oblivious to the world outside of his bubble of staff, house(s) and friends and he is a GOD. Then there are other days he seems to understand his pimp hand isn't as strong as it use to be.
When they were talking about Howard's staff having issues with the fishbowl being taken over by Andy Cohen for an interview or by others for their promotions, Howard didn't elude he would talk with Andy or Sirius about it as he would have done 10 years ago. All Howard basically said was he would just walk right thru the security if he was there.
So how much is Howard aware that he is on the down slope side of his popularity, reach and power?