The Coronation of King Charles III will involve thousands of people but, ultimately, the responsibility for organising this historic royal event falls to one person. The job belongs to the Earl Marshal.
The Earl Marshal is one of the Great Officers of State and for centuries, the role has belonged to the Dukes of Norfolk. It became an hereditary position within the family in 1672 and, ever since, the dukes have been responsible for organising great state and royal events, including the Coronation.
The current Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal is Edward Fitzalan-Howard.
The role of Earl Marshal began a long way away from coronations. Many royal courts in early medieval times had a marshal who looked after the king’s horses. In England, that role grew to include commanding the other king’s marshals and looking after his household troops. It also developed into a hereditary position although the passing of it from generation to generation of the same family wasn’t set in stone. However, when the position of marshal fell to one of the most famous soldiers of medieval times, he put a personal grip on it that was hard to shake as well as ensuring that the role was woven even further into royal life.
William Marshal held the role under a string of powerful Plantagenet monarchs, serving Henry II, two of his sons and his grandson, Henry III, who would eventually rebuild Westminster Abbey. William Marshal became so important he helped organise Henry III’s regency when he took the throne, aged just nine, in 1216. By then, he had also taken a major part in running other big royal events including funerals.
This much expanded role and his title of Earl of Pembroke was inherited by his son, William, who died without issue and left the job and the earldom to his brother, Richard, who also had no children. When Richard died, the position passed to the family of his sister, Maud, by her first husband, the Earl of Norfolk although the family of another sister got the earldom of Pembroke. That didn’t matter. By then, the position was already being called that of ‘Earl Marshal’ and as the years unfolded, its stature increased. The Earl Marshal ended up as Head of the College of Arms with the power to determine all matters concerning arms and chivalry.
The Earl Marshal also took an important role in organising state ceremonies, including coronations. In 1672, the position became hereditary by right. By then, it was held by the Dukes of Norfolk. The Howard family were, and remain, Catholic, which means that sometimes they had to delegate jobs to others until the Emancipation Act. However, since the late 17th century, inheriting the title of Duke of Norfolk also means inheriting the responsibility for the most important of state events including the State Opening of Parliament.
As well as the Coronation, the current Duke of Norfolk organised the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the Accession ceremonies of King Charles III. The Duke had, earlier in 2022, been heavily involved in the Platinum Jubilee, becoming the only Earl Marshal in history to bring together celebrations for a reign of seventy years.
Now, Edward, Duke of Norfolk has the job of organising the greatest royal event of the 21st century so far as he oversees the Coronation of King Charles III on May 6th 2023. He will have, arguably, the biggest audience an Earl Marshal has ever known for their work as global interest in the crowning of a new Monarch could see billions take note of the spectacular ceremony.
The Earl Marshal has centuries of past Coronations to draw on but it is now his turn to ensure that the crowning of a Monarch is a sparkling success.
