St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House in Sussex are proud and delighted to announce the appointment of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, Earl of Arundel, as the new President of the charity. Lord Henry succeeds the late Lady Sarah Clutton as honorary President of the hospices.        

Lord Henry’s appointment to the role comes at a key time as both hospices are on the brink of exciting developments to introduce new innovations and services, bringing hospice care to many more local children, adults and their families.

Lord Henry, aged 28, is the eldest son and heir of the Duke of Norfolk, England’s premier Duke, and has many local Sussex connections through his family home, Arundel Castle. Dividing his time between work in London and family in Sussex, Lord Henry enjoys skiing, golf and tennis and has a passion for motorsports having been a well-known presence on the Formula Three racing circuit.

There are deep family links with the hospice movement through the late Lady Sarah Clutton and also Lord Henry’s paternal grandmother the late Anne, Duchess of Norfolk CBE.

A leading figure in the early days of the British hospice movement, Anne, Duchess of Norfolk founded the charity Help the Hospices – now Hospice UK – in 1984 and became its first Chairman and then in 1998 its President. In addition, Lord Henry’s maternal step-grandmother is Mrs Kathy Gore OBE DL, chair of Friends of Sussex Hospices and a Patron of Chestnut Tree House.

Hugh Lowson, Chief Executive of St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House said:

“We were delighted when Lord Henry expressed an interest in becoming our President and invited him to visit the hospices to see for himself what wonderful places they are and how much our care means to the adults, children and families we support.

“On Tuesday 23 February, an Extraordinary General Meeting for Trustees and Members of Association was convened to ratify Lord Henry’s appointment as President of St Barnabas Hospices.

“In this honorary role, Lord Henry will continue Lady Sarah’s wonderful legacy to provide the very best hospice care locally for everyone who needs it. He is a remarkable young man with a great insight into the hospice movement and wonderful compassion for adults and children facing all the challenges that living with a life-shortening condition brings and I know that his support will be invaluable to our charity.”

Lord Henry, who will take on the role of President with immediate effect, said:

“I am very much looking forward to taking up the role of President of St Barnabas Hospices. Both hospices are amazing and the care they provide is second to none. I was very humbled when I visited to see how much their care means to the children and adults who use St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House and what a difference this specialist care and expertise makes as they face the most difficult time in their lives. I am honoured to be the charity’s President and I take the responsibilities of the role very seriously and pledge to help this wonderful local charity to the best of my ability.”