Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard, (22 October 1916 – 2 November 2007) was a senior officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He later served as

Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps His Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps is a senior member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is Charles III, the King's link with the di ...

in the

British Royal Household The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, ...

for ten years until 1982, and Gold Stick-in-Waiting and Colonel of the Life Guards for 20 years, finally retiring in 1999.

Early life

Fitzalan-Howard was the second son of

Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop Bernard Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop, (10 May 1885 – 24 August 1972) was a British peer. Fitzalan-Howard was the eldest son of Francis Fitzalan-Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Glossop and Clara Louisa (Greenwood), and gr ...

and

Mona Fitzalan-Howard, 11th Baroness Beaumont Mona Josephine Tempest Fitzalan-Howard, 11th Baroness Beaumont, Baroness Howard of Glossop, OBE ( née Stapleton; 1 August 1894 – 31 August 1971) was a British peer. Personal life Mona was the elder of two daughters of Miles Stapleton, 10th B ...

.Obituary: Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard
The Telegraph, 5 November 2007 He was 15 months younger than the eldest sibling, Miles, 17th Duke of Norfolk. He had two other brothers and four sisters, all with first names beginning with the letter "M". He grew up at his mother's family seat,

Carlton Towers Carlton Towers in the civil parish of Carlton, south-east of Selby, North Yorkshire, England, is a very large Grade I listed country house, in the Victorian Gothic-revival style, and is surrounded by a 250-acre park. The house was re-buil ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. Fitzalan-Howard and his elder brother, Miles, followed parallel courses in their education and career. Both were educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

, before Oxford and Cambridge – Michael at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

from 1935 to 1938, and Miles at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. Both then took a commission in the

– Michael in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1938 and Miles in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. Michael joined the 3rd Battalion of the Scots Guards when it was formed in April 1944.

Army career

As majors, the brothers both fought in tanks in the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier G ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, fighting in the breakout from

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

: Michael commanded a squadron of the 3rd Scots Guards, while Miles was

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

5th Guards Armoured Brigade The 5th Guards Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army, a component unit of the Guards Armoured Division, that served in the Second World War in North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945. History This brigade was con ...

. A third brother, Martin, commanded a tank in the 2nd Grenadier Guards. Michael and Miles both won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(MC) in 1944. Michael's MC was awarded for leading several attacks in the

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...

near

Estry Estry () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), ...

and

Chênedollé Chênedollé () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Valdallière.32nd Guards Brigade, beating his brother in the race to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Their brigades then leapfrogged each other on the advance through

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. Michael was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. Michael and Miles, both career officers, remained in the army after the war. Michael was best man at Miles' wedding in 1949. Both were promoted to colonel in 1958, and then to brigadier in 1961. Miles became a major general in 1963, three months before his brother. Fitzalan-Howard served as brigade major with the 1st Guards Brigade in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, and then as an instructor at the Staff Colleges in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

in 1946 and at

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

immediately afterwards. He served as brigade major of the 2nd Guards Brigade in Malaya and in London, and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1949. He was appointed a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in 1953 after working on the funeral of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. He served as second-in-command of the 1st Scots Guards in

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

, then commanded the 2nd Scots Guards in 4th Guards Brigade of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

. He promoted to brigadier and became chief of staff,

London District London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as ''Home District''. History In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in ...

, in 1958. He returned to Germany to command the 4th Guards Brigade, and was advanced to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1962. He was promoted to major general in 1964 and became the first commander of the ground forces in

Allied Command Europe Mobile Force The Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (AMF) was a small NATO quick reaction force, headquartered at Heidelberg, Germany, active from 1960 to 2002. It formed part of Allied Command Europe (ACE), headquartered at SHAPE at Casteau, Belgium. The lan ...

, a tri-service unit combining forces from several members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. He was then Chief of Staff of Southern Command, based in Salisbury. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1968, and was

Major-General commanding the Household Division The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division#United Kingdom, Household Division of the British Army and is also the General officer commanding, General Officer Commanding London District (British Army), Lon ...

and General Officer Commanding

from 1968 to 1971. He was also colonel of the

Lancashire Regiment The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that had a very short existence. History The regiment was formed, as a consequence of defence cuts instigated by the 1957 Defence White Paper, by ...

from 1966 to 1970, and then colonel of the

Queen's Lancashire Regiment The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks in Dover through ...

until 1978, and honorary colonel of

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

OTC from 1968 to 1971. He retired from the army in 1971, and was advanced to

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

Later life

After retiring from the army, Fitzalan-Howard served as

from 1972 to 1981, and was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

when he retired from that role. He served as a Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire from 1974, and was also chairman of the Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve Council. In 1975, Fitzalan-Howard's elder brother,

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

succeeded as the 17th

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, and Michael became Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard when he and his siblings were granted the

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

of younger sons and daughters of a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

that year. He succeeded The Earl Mountbatten of Burma as Gold Stick-in-Waiting and Colonel of the Life Guards in 1979, offices which he held for 20 years. He became an

Extra Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1999.

Family

Fitzalan-Howard married three times. He first married Jean Marion Hamilton-Dalrymple, daughter of Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, 9th Baronet, on 4 March 1946. They had a daughter, (also named Jean), but her mother died shortly afterwards, on 28 July 1947. Their daughter, Jean, went on to become a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. He remarried on 20 April 1950, to Jane Margaret Meade-Newman, daughter of Captain William Patrick Meade-Newman. They had a daughter and four sons. His second wife died on 25 December 1995. He married again, on 2 July 1997, to Victoria Winifred Baring, daughter of Colonel Reginald Edmund Maghlin Russell and the widow of Sir Mark Baring. Michael Fitzalan-Howard died, aged 91, in 2007, survived by his third wife, the daughter of his first marriage, and his five children from his second marriage.

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Times'', 14 November 2007Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 5 November 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzalan-Howard, Lord Michael 1917 births 2007 deaths People educated at Ampleforth College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British Roman Catholics

Michael Fitzalan-Howard Major General Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard, (22 October 1916 – 2 November 2007) was a senior officer in the British Army. He later served as Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in the British Royal Household for ten years until 1982, and Gold Stic ...

British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English Roman Catholics Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Military Cross Marshals of the Diplomatic Corps Scots Guards officers British Army major generals Knights of Malta Equerries Younger sons of barons Academics of the Staff College, Camberley