Anne Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk

Anne Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, CBE (30 August 1927 – 8 April 2013) was a British peeress and humanitarian.
Born Anne Mary Teresa Constable-Maxwell, she was the eldest daughter of Wing Commander Gerald J. C. Maxwell, a Knight of Malta and a Papal Chamberlain, and his American wife, Caroline Burns Carden. During the Blitz, she and her sisters were sent to the United States, spending most of the war years living with an aunt in New Jersey.

Marriage

On 4 July 1949, she married Hon. Miles Fitzalan Howard, the eldest son of Bernard Fitzalan Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop and his wife, Mona. They had five children, two sons and three daughters.

In 1971, her husband inherited the Barony of Beaumont from his mother, making her The Lady Beaumont. In 1972, her husband inherited his father's barony. She continued to be known as The Lady Beaumont, being the senior of the two baronies. He inherited his cousin's dukedom of Norfolk in 1975 and she became The Duchess of Norfolk. In 1992, the duchess was appointed CBE for her work as Founder and Co-Chair of Help the Hospices.

Humanitarian activities

She was a member of SSAFA (Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association); she held the position of President, West Sussex Branch from 1977 to 2002, and at national level was a Vice-President of Council 1981-96.

Ancestry