Earl Marshal - WikiHQ

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 eighth of the great officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Constable of England and above the Lord High Admiral. The dukes of Norfolk have held the office since 1672.

The current earl marshal is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, who inherited the position in June 2002. There were formerly an Earl Marshal of Ireland and an Earl Marischal of Scotland.

Duties

The earl marshal was originally responsible, along with the constable, for the monarch's horses and stables including connected military operations. As a result of the decline of chivalry and sociocultural change, the position of earl marshal has evolved and among his responsibilities today is the organisation of major ceremonial state occasions such as coronations in Westminster Abbey, state funerals, and prescribing the order of ceremony for state openings of Parliament. By virtue of office, the earl marshal is the leading officer of arms in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and certain Commonwealth realms and thus oversees the College of Arms. Likewise, he is the sole judge of the High Court of Chivalry.

History

The office of the royal marshal existed in much of Europe, involving managing horses and protecting the monarch. In England, the office became hereditary under John FitzGilbert the Marshal (served c.1130–1165) after The Anarchy, and rose in prominence under his second son, William Marshal, later Earl of Pembroke. He served under several kings, acted as regent, and organised funerals and the regency during Henry III's childhood. After passing through his daughter's husband to the Earls of Norfolk, the post evolved into "Earl Marshal" and the title remained unchanged, even after the earldom of Norfolk became a dukedom.

In the Middle Ages, the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Constable were the officers of the king's horses and stables. When chivalry declined in importance, the constable's post declined and the Earl Marshal became the head of the College of Arms, the body concerned with all matters of genealogy and heraldry. In conjunction with the Lord High Constable, he had held a court, known as the Court of Chivalry, for the administration of justice in accordance with the law of arms, which was concerned with many subjects relating to military matters, such as ransom, booty and soldiers' wages, and including the misuse of armorial bearings.

In 1672, the office of Marshal of England and the title of Earl Marshal of England were made hereditary in the Howard family. In a declaration made on 16 June 1673 by Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, the Lord Privy Seal, in reference to a dispute over the exercise of authority over the Officers of Arms the powers of the Earl Marshal were stated as being "to have power to order, judge, and determine all matters touching arms, ensigns of nobility, honour, and chivalry; to make laws, ordinances and statutes for the good government of the Officers of Arms; to nominate Officers to fill vacancies in the College of Arms; [and] to punish and correct Officers of Arms for misbehaviour in the execution of their places". Additionally it was declared that no patents of arms or any ensigns of nobility should be granted, and no augmentation, alteration, or addition should be made to arms, without the consent of the Earl Marshal.

The Earl Marshal is considered the eighth of the Great Officers of State, with the Lord High Constable above him and only the Lord High Admiral beneath him. Nowadays, the Earl Marshal's role has mainly to do with the organisation of major state ceremonies such as coronations and state funerals. Annually, the Earl Marshal helps organise the State Opening of Parliament. The Earl Marshal also remains to have charge over the College of Arms and no coat of arms may be granted without his warrant. As a symbol of his office, he carries a baton of gold with black finish at either end.

In the general order of precedence, the Earl Marshal is currently the highest hereditary position in the United Kingdom outside the Royal Family. Although other state and ecclesiastical officers rank above in precedence, they are not hereditary. The exception is the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, which is notionally higher than Earl Marshal and also hereditary. The holding of the Earl Marshalship secures the Duke of Norfolk's traditional position as the "first peer" of the land, above all other dukes.

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, but the Act provided that the persons holding the office of Earl Marshal and, if a peer, the Lord Great Chamberlain continue for the time being to have seats so as to carry out their ceremonial functions in the House of Lords. Further reforms in the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 removed the right to sit and vote from all remaining hereditary peers, while retaining the ceremonial functions of these two officeholders.

Lords Marshal of England, 1135–1386

thumb|Depiction by [[Matthew Paris (d.1259) of the arms of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1194–1219): Party per pale or and vert, overall a lion rampant gules]]

right|thumb|Arms of "Bigod Modern": Party per pale or and vert, overall a lion rampant gules, adopted by [[Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk (1269–1306), after 1269 following his inheritance of the office of Marshal of England from the Marshal family]]

Gilbert Giffard ?–1129 (?)
John Fitz-Gilbert “the Marshal” 1130–1165 (?)
John Marshal 1165–1194
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1194–1219
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke 1219–1231
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke 1231–1234
Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke 1234–1241
Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke 1242–1245
Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke 1245
Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk 1245–1269
Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk 1269–1306
Robert de Clifford 1307–1308
Nicholas Seagrave 1308–1316
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk 1316–1338
William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury 1338–1344
Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk 1338–1377
Henry Percy, Lord Percy 1377
John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, Lord Maltravers 1377–1383 (died 1379)
Thomas Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham 1385–1386

Earls Marshal of England, 1386–present

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:Center"

! colspan=2 | Earl Marshal

! colspan=2 | Term of office

! Monarch

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Thomas de Mowbray 1st Duke of Norfolk

| 1386

| 1398

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Richard II 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Thomas Holland 1st Duke of Surrey

| 1398

| 1399

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Ralph de Neville 1st Earl of Westmorland

| 1400

| 1412

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry IV 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | John de Mowbray 2nd Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=3 | 1412

| rowspan=3 | 1432

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry V

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry VI 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| John de Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk

| 1432

| 1461

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | John de Mowbray 4th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=3 | 1461

| rowspan=3 | 1476

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward IV

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry VI

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward IV 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 style="font-size:90%;" | Jointly:

| rowspan=2 | 1476

| rowspan=2 | 1483

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward V 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk

| 1483

| 1485

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Richard III 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| William de Berkeley 1st Marquess of Berkeley

| 1486

| 1492

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry VII 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Lord Henry Duke of York

| 1494

| 1509

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk

| 1509

| 1524

| rowspan=3 style="background:#EAECF0" | Henry VIII 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk

| 1524

| 1533

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk

| 1533

| 1547

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Edward Seymour 1st Duke of Somerset

| 1547

| 1551

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward VI 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| John Dudley 1st Duke of Northumberland

| 1551

| 1553

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk

| 1553

| 1554

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Mary I 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Thomas Howard 4th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=2 | 1554

| rowspan=2 | 1572

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=5 style="background:#EAECF0" | Elizabeth I 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury

| 1572

| 1590

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| style="font-size:90%;" | In commission:

| 1590

| 1597

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex

| 1597

| 1601

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| style="font-size:90%;" | In commission

| 1602

| 1603

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Edward Somerset 4th Earl of Worcester

| 1603

| rowspan=4 style="background:#EAECF0" | James I 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| style="font-size:90%;" | In commission:

| 1604

| 1616

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| style="font-size:90%;" | In commission:

| 1662

| 1672

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Henry Howard 6th Duke of Norfolk

| 1672

| 1684

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | Henry Howard 7th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=3 | 1684

| rowspan=3 | 1701

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | James II 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | Mary II 65px William III 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 | 75px

| rowspan=4 | Thomas Howard 8th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=4 | 1701

| rowspan=4 | 1732

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Anne 65px 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | George I 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | George II 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Edward Howard 9th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=2 | 1732

| rowspan=2 | 1777

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 style="background:#EAECF0" | George III 65px 65px 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Charles Howard 10th Duke of Norfolk

| 1777

| 1786

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Charles Howard 11th Duke of Norfolk

| 1786

| 1815

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 | 75px

| rowspan=4 | Bernard Edward Howard 12th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=4 | 1815

| rowspan=4 | 1842

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | George IV 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | William IV 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 style="background:#EAECF0" | Victoria 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Henry Charles Howard 13th Duke of Norfolk

| 1842

| 1856

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard 14th Duke of Norfolk

| 1856

| 1860

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| rowspan=3 | Henry Fitzalan-Howard 15th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=3 | 1860

| rowspan=3 | 1917

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward VII 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 style="background:#EAECF0" | George V 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=4 | 75px

| rowspan=4 | Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard 16th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=4 | 1917

| rowspan=4 | 1975

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Edward VIII 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | George VI 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=3 style="background:#EAECF0" | Elizabeth II 65px

|- style="height:1em"

| 75px

| Miles Fitzalan-Howard 17th Duke of Norfolk

| 1975

| 2002

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| rowspan=2 | Edward William Fitzalan-Howard 18th Duke of Norfolk

| rowspan=2 | 2002

| rowspan=2 | Incumbent

|- style="height:1em"

| style="background:#EAECF0" | Charles III 65px

Deputy Earls Marshal of England

The position of Earl Marshal had a Deputy called the Knight Marshal from the reign of Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846.

Deputy Earls Marshal have been named at various times, discharging the responsibilities of the office during the minority or infirmity of the Earl Marshal. Prior to an Act of Parliament in 1824, Protestant deputies were required when the Earl Marshal was a Roman Catholic, which occurred frequently due to the Catholicism of the Norfolks.

{| class="wikitable"

! Name

! style="text-align: center;" | Tenure

! Deputy to

! style="text-align: center;" | Ref(s)

| Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle

| 1673–?

| Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle

| 1701–1706

| Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk and 1st Earl of Bindon

| 1706–1718

| Henry Bowes-Howard, 4th Earl of Berkshire

| 1718–1725

| Talbot Yelverton, 1st Earl of Sussex

| 1725–1731

| Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham

| 1731–1743

| Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham

| 1743–1763

| Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire

| 1763–1765

| Richard Lumley-Saunderson, 4th Earl of Scarbrough

| 1765–1777

| Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham

| 1777–1782

| Charles Howard, Earl of Surrey

| 1782–1786

| Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard

| 1816–1824

| 12th Duke of Norfolk

| Lord Edward Fitzalan-Howard

| 1861–1868

| 15th Duke of Norfolk

| Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent

| 1917–1929

| 16th Duke of Norfolk

| Edward Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey

| 2000–2002

| 17th Duke of Norfolk

Notes

References

Sliford, William (1782). The Court Register and Statesman's Remembrancer
Round, J.H. (1899) The Commune of London, and other Studies. Westminster: Constable.
Debretts.com
Tudorplace.com
The dormant and extinct baronage of England - Banks - PP356ff

Duties

History

Lords Marshal of England, 1135–1386

Earls Marshal of England, 1386–present

Deputy Earls Marshal of England

See also

Notes

References