Duke of Norfolk banned from driving despite his argument of ‘exceptional hardship’

The Duke of Norfolk appeared in court on Monday arguing he should be spared a driving ban because he has a key role in organising the coronation of King Charles III.

Edward Fitzalan-Howard, who helped arrange the Queen’s funeral, was spotted using his mobile phone behind the wheel after running a red light in south London in April.

The 65-year-old peer, who also has the title The Earl Marshal, pleaded guilty to the offence but claimed the loss of his licence would cause “exceptional hardship” because of his pivotal role in the King’s coronation, which is expected to take place in the Spring.

But after listening to his arguments - some behind closed doors - magistrates at Lavender Hill in Battersea, rejected his plea for leniency and banned him from the roads for six months.

The Duke, who is also responsible for organising the State Opening of Parliament, already had nine points on his licence for previous speeding offences when he was caught using his mobile phone at the wheel.

Admitting the offence - which carries further six penalty points - meant that the peer would lose his licence for a period under the totting up rule, which disqualifies anyone with 12 points or more.

But the highest-ranking duke in England asked the court to show him clemency because of the “exceptional hardship” it would cause.

He said as well as his official duties around the coronation he was carrying out vital conservation work to prevent "nature's complete collapse" and "the end of mankind".

Asking for the hearing to be held partially in private, the Duke’s lawyer, Natasha Dardashti, argued she would need to divulge sensitive information about the Duke’s role in the arrangements, citing “national security”.

She said: “Very few people have been made aware of the date, the more sensitive the material the fewer people are yet to be involved in that…it would be unacceptable for these details to be made public or made known to risk the escape of that information of a very sensitive nature."

She told magistrates: “It’s an extremely peculiar situation whereby his grace, the Duke of Norfolk, is Earl Marshal. One of his responsibilities is for the preparation and organisation of the funeral of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. He is now the person in the country responsible for the coronation of His Royal Highness King Charles III.

"It is a huge undertaking and it is the responsibility of this one man at this time."

Duke 'needs to be mobile to organise King's coronation'

Ms Dardashti said the Duke had already been given a lot of information about his role in the coronation and needed to be mobile in order to organise what would be a “huge event”.

"He needs to travel to all of the jurisdictions of the UK, to locate venues, speak to people and encourage people to become involved in what is going to be another world spectacular,” she explained.

Asked by the magistrates about his ceremonial duties he replied: "These last two weeks have been really full on, with not only the rehearsals in Windsor and London in the early hours, but that of course has been exceptional.

"I get into the office at 7am to 7.30am... It is very, very important I lead the team, react to the problems, take the right decisions and motivate."

In open court, the Duke told magistrates a driving ban would also severely impact on his conservation work, explaining that his office and the local railway station are four miles away from his home in Arundel Castle, West Sussex.

He explained he employs 150 people and needs to travel to his other estates in Norfolk and Yorkshire.

But he also said he spends a lot of time on the South Downs, where he funds a conservation project to protect "near extinct" bird life.

"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 explained.

"I spend an enormous amount of my time, my spare hours, because it's my passion, going onto the Downs, witnessing the revival of nature and managing the detail needed to bring this change in nature about."

He said the loss of his licence could be "very, very serious", leading to the loss of jobs for up to 20 or 30 employees, such as tractor driver "Gary", which he said, "would mortify me".

The 18th Duke of Norfolk, who inherited the position upon the death of his father in 2002, said: "Obviously, I have got the financial means to hire a driver."

But he said it would be "impossible" to have enough drivers to meet his needs around the clock.

The court heard how the Duke had been driving his BMW through Battersea on April 7 when police saw him go through a red light.

Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, said: “One of the officers observed the driver using a mobile phone while doing this, and he didn’t seem to be paying attention”, said prosecutor Jonathan Bryan.

“They drove up to the BMW and saw through the window the driver was using a mobile phone. They spoke to the driver, who was His Grace, and there was a conversation about the use of a mobile phone.

“He said he hadn’t been aware of going through the red light, but accepted that he was using his mobile phone. He said he was in communication with his wife.”

The Duke is the most senior lay member of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.

An Oxford-educated father of five, he is also reported to be worth more than £100 million.