Edmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (1 June 1855 – 18 May 1947), known as The Honourable Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1855 and 1856, Lord Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1856 and 1876, and Lord Edmund Talbot between 1876 and 1921, was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician and the last

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. He was the first

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to be appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland since the 17th century, holding office when

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was partitioned into Southern Ireland and

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Background

FitzAlan was born at 11

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, the second son of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk by his wife the Hon. Augusta Lyons, daughter of

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons, and the younger brother of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk. He was principal beneficiary named in the will of Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury (1832–1856) provided he took the surname and arms of "Talbot", which he did by

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in 1876. However, the late earl's distant relatives contested the will, and the peerage and concomitant property were awarded after much litigation to Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 3rd Earl Talbot, leaving Lord Edmund Talbot with only scattered minor lands. He returned to the use of his paternal name by royal licence in 1921, shortly after being raised to the peerage.

Career

Talbot was elected member of parliament for

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in 1894, a seat he held until 1921. In 1899 he was appointed, by

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He served as Commander-in-Chief ...

, as the military censor of telegraph communications in Cape Town, South Africa, on the outbreak of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. He later served briefly under

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

as a

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in 1905 and under

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

and later

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

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from 1915 to 1921 (jointly from December 1916 onwards). In 1918 he was sworn of the Privy Council. On 27 April 1921 he was appointed

, the first Roman Catholic to be appointed to the position since 1685 during the reign of

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. His appointment was possible because Section 37 of the

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had been brought into force shortly beforehand. That provision provided that no British subject would be disqualified from holding the position on account of his religious belief. Concerning the announcement of his impending appointment, the ''

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'' observed that "the concillatory motive of his appointment eing a Roman Catholicis obvious...it is an olive branch in place of a dictatorship." However, his tenure as Lord Lieutenant lasted only a year and a half. The post was abolished with the coming into existence of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

and its

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in 1922. The position was replaced by the offices of the

Governor-General of the Irish Free State The governor-general of the Irish Free State () was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it was controversial, as many Irish Nat ...

and the

Governor of Northern Ireland The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973. Overview The office of Governor of Northern I ...

. The day after his appointment as Lord Lieutenant he was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent, of Derwent in the County of Derby. In addition, during the minority of his nephew the 16th Duke of Norfolk, who succeeded to the dukedom in 1917, he served as Deputy

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

. He was appointed Knight Companion of the

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(KG) in 1925.

Personal life

FitzAlan married Lady Mary Bertie, daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, on 5 August 1879. They lived at

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and had two children: * Hon Mary Caroline Magdalan Fitzalan-Howard (born 24 August 1880, died 24 November 1974) * Henry Edmund Fitzalan-Howard, 2nd Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (born 30 October 1883, died 17 May 1962) FitzAlan died on 18 May 1947 at the age of 91, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his only son, Henry. In his thirties, FitzAlan – then known as Lord Edmund Talbot – was the patron of

Chichester City F.C. Chichester City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chichester, West Sussex, England. Affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Oaklands Park. History The club ...

Titles

* 1855–1856: ''The Honourable'' Edmund Fitzalan-Howard * 1856–1876: The Lord Edmund Fitzalan-Howard * 1876–1921: The Lord Edmund Talbot * 1921–1947: ''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent

References

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

Viscounts created by George V People from Westminster