Lavinia Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk

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Lavinia Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, LG, CBE (22 March 1916, Kingston Hall, Nottinghamshire10 December 1995, Arundel Castle, West Sussex) was a British peeress.

Born Lavinia Mary Strutt, she was the only daughter of Algernon Strutt, 3rd Baron Belper and his wife, Eva and was educated at Abbot's Hill School. On 27 January 1937, she married Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk (but did not convert to Roman Catholicism, her husband's religion) and they had four daughters:

At the coronation in 1937, Fitzalan-Howard was one of four duchesses who held the canopy above the Queen during the latter's anointing and took the part of the Queen during the rehearsals of the coronation in 1953 at Westminster Abbey.

The Duchess was involved with many charities and was appointed a CBE in 1971 for her work. Among firsts for women, she was the first woman Lord Lieutenant as Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex from 1975 (a post she took over from her husband after his death that year), first woman steward of Goodwood from 1975 and the first non-royal Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter. For many years, the traditional curtain-raiser to the English international cricket season was a match between Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI and the visitors, played at Arundel Castle.

The Duchess was Princess Anne's predecessor in the presidency of the Riding for the Disabled Association. The presidency passed from the Duchess to the Princess in 1986.

Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Duke of Norfolk
Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex
1975 – 1995
Succeeded by
The Duke of Richmond

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