I can’t lose my licence, I organise the coronation
Peer’s failed court plea to avoid road ban
A PEER who helped plan the Queen’s funeral tried to swerve a driving ban by saying he needed his licence to organise the King’s coronation.
The Earl Marshal, the 18th Duke of Norfolk, also claimed a road ban would jeopardise conservation work helping to prevent “the end of mankind”.
But magistrates banned the 65-year-old, real name Edward Fitzalan-Howard, for six months after he pleaded guilty to using his phone at the wheel.
Dismissing his claim that it would cause hardship, chairwoman Judith Way told Lavender Hill magistrates court, SouthWest London: “We accept that this is a unique case because of the defendant’s role in society and in particular in relation to the King’s coronation.
“The hardship needs to be exceptional and although we find inconvenience may be caused, we don’t find it excep- tional hardship.”
The press were sent out for 30 minutes after it emerged the date for Charles’ coronation has been set but remains a secret.
The Duke’s lawyer, Natasha Dardashti, said: “Very few have been made aware of the date, the more sensitive the material the fewer people are yet to be involved.”
She said details “have not yet been discussed with His Royal Highness, the
Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury”. Police stopped the Duke – the most senior lay member of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain and a crossbench peer – on April 7 after he drove his BMW through a red light.
He already had nine points from two speeding offences in 2019, meaning a further six would lead to a ban.
The father of five, a descendant of Elizabeth I who is said to be worth £100million and lives in Arundel Castle, West Sussex, told the court he could hire drivers. But while he could be driven 9am to 5pm, or at 4am “to get out to see the curlew or lapwing”, it is “almost impossible to have enough drivers to carry out this task of getting me to the right place”.
He said he employs 150 staff and must visit his other estates in Norfolk and Yorkshire, plus the South Downs, where he funds work to protect “near extinct” birds. The Duke said: “The most pressing problem, what’s going to bring about the end of mankind, it is not global warming per se, it is nature’s complete collapse.”
He also said a ban could lead to 20 or 30 staff being axed, including tractor driver “Gary”, which “would mortify me”.
In addition to his ban, the Duke was fined £800 and told to pay £400 in costs.
What’s going to bring about the end of mankind... is nature’s collapse
DUKE OF NORFOLK ON NEED FOR HIS CONSERVATION WORK