| Honorific-Prefix: | His Grace |
| The Duke of Norfolk | |
| Order: | Earl Marshal |
| Term Start: | 24 June 2002 |
| Predecessor: | The 17th Duke of Norfolk |
| Office1: | Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
| Term Start1: | 12 March 2003 Hereditary peerage |
| Predecessor1: | The 17th Duke of Norfolk |
| Birth Name: | Edward William Fitzalan-Howard |
| Birth Date: | 1956 12, df=yes |
| Blank1: | Title |
| Data1: | Duke of Norfolk |
| Blank2: | Tenure |
| Blank4: | Predecessor |
| Data4: | Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk |
| Blank5: | Heir |
| Data5: | Henry Fitzalan-Howard, Earl of Arundel |
| Nationality: | British |
| Parents: | |
| Education: | Ampleforth College |
| Alma Mater: | Lincoln College, Oxford |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: |
|
Edward William Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, (born 2 December 1956), styled Earl of Arundel between 1975 and 2002, is a British peer who holds the hereditary office of Earl Marshal and, as Duke of Norfolk, is the most senior peer in the peerage of England. He is also the titular head of the House of Howard.
Norfolk is the son of Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk, and his wife Anne Mary Teresa Constable-Maxwell.[1] He was educated at Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic independent school,[1] before going up to Lincoln College, Oxford.[1]
He has a brother and three sisters. His only brother, Lord Gerald Fitzalan-Howard, runs the Carlton Towers estate with his wife, Emma Fitzalan-Howard. The Duke's oldest sister is the Countess of Balfour. His second sister, Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, is the widow of broadcaster David Frost. His third and youngest sister is the actress Marsha Fitzalan.
Norfolk worked with various companies, and from 2000 to 2002 was Deputy Earl Marshal. Upon the death of his father in 2002, he inherited the late Duke of Norfolk's peerages and the position of Earl Marshal.[2] He was a Cub Scout while at school at Ampleforth College and currently holds two appointments in the Scout Movement. He was until 2010 the President of 1st Arundel (Earl of Arundel's Own) Scout Group, and still serves as President of the Arundel & Littlehampton District Scouts. He is also Patron of West Sussex County Scouts. In June 2003 he was awarded the Medal of Merit for Services to the Scout Movement. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.[3]
Norfolk was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 2022 Birthday Honours.
As hereditary Earl Marshal, he had responsibility for arranging the 19 September 2022 state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession and coronation of King Charles III.
The Duke lives at Arundel Castle.[4] He was disqualified from driving for six months in September 2022, as a result of a driving offence in April 2022. Added to previous motoring convictions, he incurred an excess of penalty points, resulting in the ban. His barrister argued in mitigation that he needed the ability to drive to organise the coronation of King Charles III.[5]
A Roman Catholic, the Duke of Norfolk is recognised by the Vatican as England's senior representative of the faith. The Duke, then Earl of Arundel, married Georgina Susan Gore on 27 June 1987 at Arundel Cathedral.[1] Together, they have three sons and two daughters:
The Duke and Duchess separated in 2011, but were reconciled by 2016, only to split up again; their divorce became final in 2022.[6]
On 12 November 2022, the Duke married Francesca Herbert (née Bevan), former wife of The Hon. Henry Herbert, second son of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon.
In 2002, he inherited the Dukedom of Norfolk, as well as a number of earldoms, baronies, hereditary offices, and titles attached to the Dukedom, from his father. His office of Earl Marshal, one of the Great Officers of State, makes him responsible for State occasions, such as coronations[7] [8] and the State Opening of Parliament.[6] He is also, by virtue of this office, one of the hereditary judges of the Court of Chivalry and head of the College of Arms, responsible for heraldry in England and Wales as well as other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations.
| Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk | |
| Year Adopted: | 1660 (by the 5th Duke of Norfolk) |
| Coronet: | A Coronet of a Duke |
| Crest: | 1st: Issuant from a Ducal Coronet Or a pair of Wings Gules each charged with a Bend between six Cross-crosslets fitchy Argent (Howard); 2nd: On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant gardant with tail extended Or gorged with a Ducal Coronet Argent (Thomas of Brotherton); 3rd: On a Mount Vert a Horse passant Argent holding in the mouth a Slip of Oak Vert fructed proper (Fitzalan). |
| Escutcheon: | Quarterly, 1st: Gules on a Bend between six Cross-crosslets fitchy Argent an Escutcheon Or charged with a Demi-lion rampant pierced through the mouth by an arrow within a Double Tressure flory counterflory of the first (Howard); 2nd: Gules three Lions passant gardant in pale Or, Armed and Langued Azure, in chief a Label of three points Argent (Plantagenet of Norfolk); 3rd: Checky Or and Azure (Warenne); 4th: Gules a Lion rampant Or, Armed and Langued Azure (Fitzalan). |
| Supporters: | Dexter a Lion, sinister a Horse both Argent the latter holding in the mouth a Slip of Oak Vert fructed proper. |
| Motto: | Sola Virtus Invicta (Latin for "Virtue alone is unconquered"). |
| Orders: | Circlet of the Royal Victorian Order (appointed Knight Grand Cross in 2022). Often, the coat of arms of the Duke of Norfolk appears with the Garter circlet of the Order of the Garter surrounding the shield, as seen in the arms of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. However, this is not hereditary. The 18th Duke of Norfolk, as of 2024, has not yet been appointed to the Order of the Garter. |
| Other Elements: | Placed behind the shield are two gold batons in saltire enamelled at the ends in black, which represent the Duke of Norfolk's office as Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England. |
| Symbolism: | The shield on the bend in the first quarter of the arms was granted as an augmentation of honour by Henry VIII to the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Flodden. It is a modification of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland. Instead of its normal rampant position, the lion is shown cut in half with an arrow through its mouth, commemorating the death of King James IV at the battle.[9] |