Henry Fitzalan-Howard
Duke of Norfolk
Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk (27 December 1847 – 11 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmaster General between 1895 and 1900, but is best remembered for his philanthropic work, which concentrated on Roman Catholic causes and the city of Sheffield. Norfolk was the eldest son of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk, and the Hon. Augusta Mary Minna Catherine, younger daughter of Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons. Edmund Fitzalan-Howard, 1st Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent, was his younger brother. The Duke was first educated at The Oratory School, but owing to restrictions from the Catholic Hierarchy he was unable to attend either Oxford or Cambridge Universities. His higher education instead consisted of a Grand Tour of Europe around 1867 under the guidance of classical scholar and biographer Robert Ornsby. Norfolk succeeded to the dukedom at the age of 12 on the death of his father on 25 November 1860. He also succeeded to the hereditary office of Earl Marshal held by the Dukes of Norfolk. At the same time he inherited almost 50,000 acres with 19,400 acres in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 21,000 acres in Sussex and 4,400 acres in Norfolk. On 5 April 1871 he was commissioned as captain in the part-time 9th (Arundel) Sussex Rifle Volunteer Corps, which had been raised by his father just before his death. He was promoted to major in the 2nd Sussex Rifle Volunteers on 4 March 1882. In 1895, he was
sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Postmaster General by Lord Salisbury, a post he held until early 1900, when he resigned in order to serve in the Boer War. In 1895 he also became Mayor of Sheffield; serving two terms during which he arranged the city's monumental celebrations in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Shortly thereafter he was appointed the first Lord Mayor of Sheffield, but retained the office only until November 1897. He was appointed an honorary Freeman of the City of Sheffield three years later, in March 1900. In November 1900 he became the first Mayor of Westminster. Aged 53, he went in 1900 to South Africa for service in the Second Boer War as a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Yeomanry, in the course of which he was wounded near Pretoria and invalided back to Britain. After the end of the war, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of his volunteer battalion (now the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment) on 24 December 1902, and chaired the Royal Commission on Militia and Volunteers that was established in 1903. The commission attempted to define the role of the auxiliary forces, and made detailed proposals on how their deficiencies in training and equipment could be addressed. Norfolk's commission proposed a Home Defence Army raised by conscription, which was unpopular with the Volunteers and Yeomanry, and was quickly shelved. However, in conjunction with the Elgin Commission on the War in South Africa, the Norfolk Commission's work influenced the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) under the 1908 Haldane Reforms, which subsumed the old Volunteer Force. He retired from command of the 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (as the battalion had become in the TF) in 1913 after 42 years' service. In his capacity as Earl Marshal, the duke arranged the state funerals of William Ewart Gladstone (1898), Queen Victoria (1901), and King Edward VII (1910), and the coronations of Edward VII (1902) and George V (1911). Apart from serving as Earl Marshal between 1860 and 1917, Norfolk was Lord Lieutenant of Sussex between 1905 and 1917. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1886, and received the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) from King Edward VII on 11 August 1902, following the King's coronation two days earlier. He was three-time chairman of the National Union of Conservative Associations, grand chancellor of the Primrose League, and commanding officer of the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment. As is common with the Dukes of Norfolk, but exceptional within the British aristocracy, Norfolk was a Roman Catholic. In his dual role as Premier Duke and most prominent Catholic in England, he undertook a programme of philanthropy which served in part to reintegrate Catholics into civic life.
An aide-de-camp (French expression meaning literally "helper in the military camp") is a personal assistant or secretary to a person of high rank, usually a senior military, police or government officer, or to a member of a royal family or a head of state. In the United Kingdom, an aide-de-camp (ADC) was defined in 1875 as "a confidential officer attached to the 'personal' or private staff of a general". In the field of battle, he functioned as "the bearer of his chief's written or verbal orders, and when employed as the general's mouthpiece must be implicitly obeyed". In garrison or quarters, however, his duties were more of a social character: "he superintends the general's household, writes and answers invitations, &c." Historically, the appointment pertained only to the Army (in the Navy a flag lieutenant performed equivalent duties: "communicating the admiral's orders to the various ships either personally or by signal"). According to a British military dictionary dating from 1816, an ADC usually held rank equal to, or more senior than, an army captain. "Generals, being field marshals have four [aides-de-camp], lieutenant generals two, [and] major generals one". The sovereign, as head of the army, was entitled to appoint "an indefinite number of aides-de-camp". Under Queen Victoria, appointments were made (from both the regular Army and the Royal Marines) in recognition of distinguished war service; the appointment at that time carried with it promotion to the rank of full colonel. Additional honorary appointments were
made from among the officers of the Militia. Queen Victoria also appointed a number of "naval aides-de-camp" in "compliment to the sister service". Colonial governors, governors-general and the lord lieutenant of Ireland also appointed aides-de-camp, who had a functional role akin to that of equerries in the Royal Household in which aides-de-camp have a primarily honorific role. A distinctive and elaborate full dress uniform used to be worn by army aides-de-camp.
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England, and is the premier non-royal peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The dukes have historically been Catholic, a state of affairs known as recusancy in England. All past dukes have been descended from Edward I. The son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; the earl was descended from Edward III. As all subsequent dukes after Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk are descendants of the Earl of Surrey, this means they are also descended from Edward III. In addition to the ducal title, the dukes of Norfolk also hold the hereditary position of Earl Marshal, which has the duty of organizing state occasions such as the coronation of the monarch and the state opening of Parliament. For the last five centuries, save some periods when it was under attainder, both the dukedom and the earl-marshalship have been in the hands of the Howard family. According to the House of Lords Act, due to his duties as Earl Marshal, Norfolk is one of only two hereditary
peers automatically admitted to the House of Lords, without being elected by the general body of hereditary peers (the other being the Lord Great Chamberlain). Additionally, the Duke of Norfolk participates in the ceremony of the State Opening of Parliament. He is among the four individuals who precede the monarch, and one of the two of these who would traditionally walk facing the sovereign (thus backwards), but this has not been practised in recent years. As the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk is head of the College of Arms, through which he regulates all matters connected with armorial bearings and standards, in addition to controlling the arrangements for state functions. He is one of three claimants to the title of Chief Butler of England. The Duke of Norfolk holds the following subsidiary titles: Earl of Arundel (1289), Earl of Surrey (1483), Earl of Norfolk (1644), Baron Beaumont (1309), Baron Maltravers (1330), Baron FitzAlan (1627), Baron Clun (1627), Baron Oswaldestre (1627) and Baron Howard of Glossop (1869). All titles are in the Peerage of England, save for the Barony of Howard of Glossop which is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. All descend to heirs male except the Barony of Beaumont, which can pass in the female line. The style Earl of Arundel is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's eldest son, the present holder being Henry Fitzalan-Howard, Earl of Arundel. The style Lord Maltravers is used as a courtesy title by the eldest son of the Duke's eldest son (the Duke's grandson).
Awards: Collar, sash and star of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
