For 20 years, the Duke of Norfolk has organized the Queen’s state funeral. Now he should also be responsible for the coronation of King Charles. However, a court does not see this as a reason to let him get away with a repeated traffic offense.
The organizer of the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II will have to leave his car parked for the foreseeable future. A London court handed Edward Fitzalan-Howard, Duke of Norfolk a six-month driving ban after he pleaded guilty to running a red light in his BMW while his cell phone was on April 7. The nobleman’s lawyers had asked for the ban to be lifted because of the Duke’s role in organizing the coronation of King Charles III. not to implement.
Fitzalan-Howard is the senior duke in England and also holds the title of Earl Marshal. Due to two previous speeding violations, a mandatory driving ban awaited him after the most recent offence. However, the 65-year-old’s lawyer, Natasha Dardashti, tried to convince the judges of the importance of the Duke’s mobility. It is an “extremely special situation” because Fitzalan-Howard “is responsible for the coronation of His Royal Highness King Charles III.” be that is expected for the coming year.
Dardashti argued that her client, as Earl Marshal, had a “very, very” important role in the coronation and would be in an “extraordinary situation” if he were banned from driving. But the judges rejected this argument. While this is a special case and the driving ban will cause inconvenience, “we do not see an exceptional emergency,” said presiding judge Judith Wray.
Fitzalan-Howard was responsible for organizing the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey a week ago. Heads of state and government from all over the world as well as representatives of royal families and the British royal family attended the state funeral. The Duke has spent the past 20 years organizing the funeral.
