Lavinia Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (''née'' Strutt; 22 March 1916 – 10 December 1995) was a British noblewoman.

Life

Born Lavinia Mary Strutt, she was the only daughter of

Algernon Strutt, 3rd Baron Belper Algernon Henry Strutt (6 May 1883 – 20 May 1956), was 3rd Baron Belper from 1914 to 1956. He entered the British Army in August 1908 and gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the 2nd Life Guards. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron ...

, and his wife,

Eva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

. She was educated at

Abbot's Hill School Abbot's Hill School is an independent day school for girls aged 4–16 years and a day nursery and pre-school for girls and boys from 6 months in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. History The School celebrated its 100th A ...

. On 27 January 1937, she married

Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk (30 May 1908 – 31 January 1975), styled Earl of Arundel and Surrey until 1917, was a British peer and politician. He was the eldest surviving son of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of ...

at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

. She did not convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, her husband's religion. They had four daughters, only one (the youngest) of whom has children: * Lady Anne Fitzalan-Howard, later 14th Lady Herries of Terregles (1938–2014); married Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge * Lady Mary Fitzalan-Howard, later 15th Lady Herries of Terregles (1940–2017); married Anthony Mumford * Lady Sarah Fitzalan-Howard (1941–2015); married Nigel Clutton * Lady Jane Fitzalan-Howard, later 16th Lady Herries of Terregles (b. 1945); married Michael Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian At the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

in 1937, the Duchess of Norfolk was one of four duchesses who held the canopy above Queen Elizabeth during the latter's

anointing Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

. In 1953, she took the part of

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 ...

during dress rehearsals for the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The Duke of Norfolk was hereditary

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eig ...

, and organised both coronations as well as important state events in later years.

Charities

The Duchess was involved with many charities and was appointed a

CBE 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 1971 for her work. Among firsts for women, she was the first woman

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex This is a complete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex since the creation of the office and the county on 1 April 1974: *1 April 1974 – 31 January 1975: Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk (previously Lor ...

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 The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. The Duchess was

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

's predecessor in the presidency of the

Riding for the Disabled Association The Riding for the Disabled Association, also known as the RDA is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and phys ...

. The presidency passed from the Duchess to the Princess in 1986.

Sport

For many years, the traditional curtain-raiser to the English international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

season was a match between

Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI The Duke of Norfolk's XI is a scratch cricket team. It was originally named for the 16th Duke, but following his death in 1975 the team played on in his widow's name as Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI. After her own death in 1995, the title re ...

and the visitors, played at

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War a ...

. It played on in the Duchess' name after the Duke's death in 1975, reverting to its original name after her own death in 1995. The Duchess was an owner of racehorses: her best winners included Moon Madness,

Sheriff's Star Sheriff's Star (27 April 1985 – after 1995) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old he won his first two races before establishing himself as one of the best British colts of his generation with a close second in ...

and Lucky Moon ( Goodwood Cup).

References

External links

Entry at ThePeerage.com
1916 births 1995 deaths

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Stor ...

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of barons Ladies Companion of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of West Sussex Wives of knights {{England-duke-stub