A soldier who became the premier duke, he valued his military medal over nobility.

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Miles Fitzalan-Howard lived a dual life as a high-ranking British Army general and the premier duke of England. While he inherited vast estates and the hereditary responsibility for state occasions, he famously declared that his military decoration for bravery in Italy meant more to him than his aristocratic title.

Born in 1915, Miles Fitzalan-Howard followed a distinguished military path before assuming his role as the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Commissioned as an officer in 1936, he served in the Grenadier Guards and earned the Military Cross in 1944 for his reconnaissance work under enemy fire in Italy. His career spanned over three decades, including roles as the Chief of the British mission to Soviet forces in Germany and as a major-general. He retired from the army in 1967 after serving as the Director of Service Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence.

In 1975, his life shifted significantly when he inherited the Dukedom of Norfolk from a distant cousin. This title brought with it the Great Office of Earl Marshal, making him the hereditary head of the College of Arms and the official responsible for organizing state ceremonies. As the senior Roman Catholic peer in the United Kingdom, he represented the Queen at several papal installations and funerals. Despite his traditional role, he was known for his candid views, once publicly questioning the Catholic Church's stance on birth control by sharing his own family's experiences.

The Duke managed his ancestral responsibilities with a focus on preservation, notably establishing a charitable trust to maintain Arundel Castle rather than transferring it to the National Trust. He remained a patron of numerous Catholic organizations until his death in 2002. His legacy is marked by a blend of military discipline and the ceremonial duties of his peerage, reflecting a life that bridged the rigid expectations of the British aristocracy with a pragmatic, often outspoken, personal character.

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