Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk

Major General His Grace
The Duke of Norfolk
KG GCVO CB CBE MC DL

Portrait by Allan Warren
Earl Marshal
In office
31 January 1975 – 24 June 2002
Monarch Elizabeth II
Preceded by The 16th Duke of Norfolk
Succeeded by The 18th Duke of Norfolk
Personal details
Born Miles Frances Fitzalan-Howard
(1915-07-21)21 July 1915
49 Eaton Place, London
Died 24 June 2002(2002-06-24) (aged 86)
Bacres House, Hambleden, Buckinghamshire
Resting place Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Castle, West Sussex
Citizenship British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Anne Constable-Maxwell (1927–2013)
Children 5
Parents Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop
Mona Stapleton, 11th Baroness Beaumont
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford
Profession Soldier
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1936–1967
Rank Major General
Commands Director of Service Intelligence
Director of Management and Support Intelligence
1st Armoured Division
Battles/wars Second World War
Awards Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross

Major General Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk, KG, GCVO, CB, CBE, MC, DL (21 July 1915 – 24 June 2002), was a British Army general and peer. He was the eldest son of Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop, and his wife Mona Stapleton, 11th Baroness Beaumont.

Military career

Educated at Ampleforth College and Christ Church, Oxford,[1] Miles Fitzalan-Howard was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army as a university candidate on 3 July 1936.[2] and was subsequently commissioned in the same rank in the Grenadier Guards on 27 August 1937, with seniority from 30 January 1936.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 January 1939[4] and to captain on 30 January 1944.[5]

In April 1944, as a temporary major during the Second World War, he was awarded the Military Cross for reconnaissance of mined roads.[6] He was at the time on foot and under enemy fire. He was quoted in his obituary in The Independent as saying: "Anyone can be the Duke of Norfolk, but I'm rather proud of that medal."[7]

Fitzalan-Howard was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 30 January 1949.[8] Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 28 February 1955,[9] he was appointed Chief of the British mission to the Soviet forces in Germany in 1957, and received a promotion to colonel on 24 April 1958[10] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Military Division, in the 1960 New Year Honours.[11]

In 1961, he was appointed Commander of the 70th Brigade (King's African Rifles and the Kenya Regiment), just before Kenyan independence.[12] Promoted to brigadier on 1 January 1963,[13] he became General Officer Commanding 1st Division on 5 November, with the rank of temporary major general.[14] He was conformed in the substantive rank of major-general in February 1964, retroactive to 5 November and with seniority from 10 April 1963.[15]

After relinquishing his command on 5 November 1965, he became Director of Management and Support Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence on 6 January 1966[16] Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours,[17] he was appointed Director of Service Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence on 29 July.[18] He relinquished this appointment on 18 September of the following year and retired the same day, after 31 years of service.[19]

Baronies of Beaumont & Howard of Glossop

The Duke inherited the Barony of Beaumont from his mother, the 11th Baroness, in 1971,[1] and the Barony Howard of Glossop from his father, the 3rd Baron, in 1972.[1]

Dukedom of Norfolk

When he was Lord Beaumont he inherited the Dukedom of Norfolk from his second cousin once removed, The 16th Duke of Norfolk, in 1975[1] and added his mother's maiden name of Stapleton before his own that year. He also inherited the Great Office of Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England, which is attached to the Dukedom of Norfolk, thereby becoming responsible for State occasions.[1] He became, by virtue of this office, the hereditary judge 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 such as Australia and New Zealand.

The Dukes of Norfolk remained Roman Catholic despite the Reformation (see recusancy). The Duke, as senior Roman Catholic peer of the United Kingdom, represented The Queen at the installation of Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II and at the funeral of Pope John Paul I.[1] The 17th Duke was patron of many Catholic charities and benevolent organisations, including the Catholic Building Society.

Personal life

One of eight children (all of whose first names started with the letter "M"), the Duke married Anne Mary Teresa Constable-Maxwell in 1949. They had two sons and three daughters:[1]

The Duke died on 24 June 2002 and is buried at Fitzalan Chapel on the western grounds of Arundel Castle. A memorial service was held at Westminster Cathedral, celebrated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster; the congregation was led by Princess Alexandra of Kent representing the Queen and by Field Marshal Lord Bramall representing the Duke of Edinburgh.[21]

Titles & Honours

Titles from birth

Honours and awards

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obituary: The Duke of Norfolk Daily Telegraph, 26 June 2002
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34301. p. 4230. 3 July 1936. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34430. p. 5441. 27 August 1937. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34594. p. 681. 31 January 1939. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36353. p. 570. 1 February 1944. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36456. p. 1587. 6 April 1944. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Obituary: The Duke of Norfolk The Independent, 26 June 2002
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38526. p. 564. 1 February 1949. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40479. p. 2867. 17 May 1955. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41550. p. 7046. 18 November 1958. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41909. p. 6. 1 January 1960. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42959. p. 3025. 5 April 1963. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43149. p. 9043. 5 November 1963. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43241. p. 1257. 11 February 1964. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43875. p. 655. 18 January 1966. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44004. p. 6531. 11 June 1966. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  18. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44066. p. 8501. 29 July 1966. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44410. p. 10207. 19 September 1967. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Tessa Balfour is many things". New York Social Diary.
  21. ↑ "Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk". Rootsweb.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Thomas Pearson		 General Officer Commanding the 1st Division
1963–1965 		Succeeded by
Richard Ward
Political offices
Preceded by
The Duke of Norfolk		 Earl Marshal
1975–2002 		Succeeded by
The Duke of Norfolk
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Mona Fitzalan-Howard		 Baron Beaumont
1971–2002 		Succeeded by
Edward Fitzalan-Howard
Preceded by
Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard		 Duke of Norfolk
1975–2002
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Bernard Edward Fitzalan-Howard		 Baron Howard of Glossop
1972–2002 		Succeeded by
Edward Fitzalan-Howard
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