With the English-Speaking Union

By Megan McKinney

Georgina, Duchess of Norfolk.

The English-Speaking Union never disappoints, and last week was no exception, when members and friends of the Chicago Branch gathered to meet Georgina Susan Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, for lunch at a private club on Delaware Place. Her Grace was visiting Chicago as Patron of DePaul International, a London-based charitable organization that provides direct services and advocacy to homeless people across many countries.

An appreciative audience of 75 guests of the ESU’s Chicago Branch and Her Majesty’s Consul General Stephen Bridges heard the Duchess describe her home, Arundel Castle in West Sussex, England, and its lovely gardens. It was appropriate for Her Grace, whose husband, Edward William Fitzalan-Howard, 18^th Duke of Norfolk, is the Premier Duke, to also discuss the Duke’s family and its history.

The Howards have held the title since King Richard III conferred it upon Sir John Howard in 1483. Her Grace’s husband succeeded to the Dukedom upon the death of his father in 2002 and, as Premier Duke, he is Earl Marshall of England, in charge of all state occasions. The illustrated talk was followed by a special luncheon during which ESU members and their guests were charmed by the warm manner of Her Grace and the appeal of her subject matter.