Edward Fitzalan-Howard may not be a name familiar to most Britons.
But the Duke of Norfolk is the most senior peer in the country and now faces the intimidating task of organising the Queen’s funeral.
Likely to be one of the largest gatherings of international leaders and royalty in history, the event will be a public holiday in the UK, meaning schools and shops will be closed and thousands of people visiting London.
The date has not yet been set but looks most likely to be Monday, 19 September.
The Duke of Norfolk and a team of royal courtiers therefore have little more than a week to organise the occasion.
The Fitzalan-Howards are one of the oldest aristocratic families in the country and can be traced back to King Edward I.
Mr Fitzalan-Howard, known as Eddie to friends, inherited the role of Earl Marshal, along with his dukedom in 2002, from his father Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, the 17th Duke of Norfolk.
The ancient role means he is responsible for overseeing occasions such as royal funerals, coronations and the state opening of parliament.
His role as earl marshal means he was also a key figure at the official proclamation of Charles as King, signing papers and standing on the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s Palace when it was read out.
The 65-year-old lives in the family’s ancestral home, Arundel Castle in West Sussex.
The building dates back more than a thousand years and the occupants have long been close friends of the royal family.
The Duke was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the RVO for services to the monarchy during the Queen’s Jubilee honours this summer.
Mr Fitzalan-Howard and his wife Georgina have five children – Henry, Rachel, Thomas, Isabel and Philip – but last month he said their divorce has been finalised.
The couple, who married in 1987, had tried to resolve their issues, particularly because Mr Fitzalan-Howard is the most senior lay person of the Roman Catholic church.
They first separated in 2011 and the split was said to be so acrimonious that they even missed the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge because they could not bear to be in the same room. The couple reconciled in 2016 but the Duke told The Mail on Sunday last month that their divorce had been finalised and the split was “amicable”.
Both the Duke and Duchess were close friends of the Queen who was said to have been sad that they were unable to mend the marriage.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the Duke is in a relationship with Francesca Herbert, mother of socialite Frankie Herbert and ex-wife of Harry Herbert whose father, the 7th Earl of Carnavon, was the Queen’s closest confidant.
As a large landowner, Mr Fitzalan-Howard is said to be worth more than £100m.
He gave one of the family’s other properties, the 126-bedroom Carlton Towers in North Yorkshire to his brother Gerald.
The couple starred in an ITV series ‘Keeping Up With The Aristocrats’.
Edward Fitzalan-Howard has also run businesses including a bottled gas company and a joinery firm and enjoyed motor racing as a younger man, The Times reports.
A source told the newspaper: “Eddie has bags of aristocratic self-confidence. I have always been really impressed at the way he leads the rehearsal for the state opening of parliament.”