Lavinia Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, LG, CBE (22 March 1916, Kingston Hall, Nottinghamshire–10 December 1995, Arundel Castle, West Sussex) was a British peeress. Born Lavinia Mary Strutt, she was the only daughter of Algernon Strutt, 3rd Baron Belper and his wife, Eva and was educated at Abbot's Hill School. On 27 January 1937, she married Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk (but did not convert to Roman Catholicism, her husband's religion) and they had four daughters:
- Lady Anne Elizabeth, later 14th Lady Herries of Terregles (b. 1938), married Colin Cowdrey.
- Lady Mary Katherine (b. 1940), married Anthony Mumford.
- Lady Sarah Margaret (born 1941), married Nigel Clutton.
- Lady Theresa Jane (b. 1945)), married Michael Kerr 13th Marquess of Lothian.
At the coronation in 1937, Fitzalan-Howard was one of four duchesses who held the canopy above the The Queen during the latter's anointing and took the part of the queen during the rehearsals of the coronation in 1953 at Westminster Abbey. The duchess was involved with many charities and was appointed a CBE in 1971 for her work. Among firsts for women, she was the first woman Lord Lieutenant as Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex 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. For many years, the traditional curtain-raiser to the English international cricket season was a match between Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI and the visitors, played at Arundel Castle.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Duke of Norfolk |
Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex 1975 – 1995 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Richmond |
