Why did the British Prime Minister, duke and mastermind behind both the King’s coronation and Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, miss the New Year’s gong?

As expected, many recipients of the King’s New Year Honors were the men and women who made Charles’s coronation such a success.

From the orchestra conductor of the ceremony to the registrar who arranged the seating for Westminster Abbey, along with police officers, civil servants and the Archbishop of Canterbury, it’s a varied bunch.

So it was not surprising that Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the 18th Duke of Norfolk, who masterminded not only Queen Elizabeth’s coronation but also Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, was tipped by some society insiders as a gong for a gong.

And a big one too. In his role as Earl Marshal, he spent twenty years meticulously planning both events to ensure they ran smoothly.

The 67-year-old Duke’s conspicuous omission from the list of 1,200 men and women recognized for their “exceptional achievements” may seem like a snub – just as it did when he was overlooked at Charles’ birthday celebrations in June.

The Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year

At the time it was reported that the two men were ‘at odds’, with claims that the Duke, the most senior peer in the country, was ‘introducing unwanted reforms’ to modernize the coronation.

Others suggested he was ‘sidelined’ due to an embarrassing six-month driving ban last September when he was caught using his mobile phone behind the wheel and running a red light.

The duke tried to circumvent the ban after claiming he needed his license to arrange the king’s coronation, a move that led some to view him as a ‘liability’.

However, the word from royal insiders is that all hope is not lost. He may just have to wait a few months.

The Order of the Garter, which his grandfather, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, received for organizing the coronation of George VI, is traditionally awarded on St George’s Day, April 23.

But the 16th Duke was also recognized for masterminding the late Queen’s coronation in 1953, receiving a royal Victorian necklace.

Couldn’t Charles have given the Duke one? Unfortunately, our complicated reward system doesn’t work that way.

Experts say he must become a Knight of the Garter before he is eligible for a Chain.

It was suggested that the Duke of Norfolk (pictured at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court in September last year) was ‘sidelined’ due to an embarrassing six-month driving ban in September last year when he was caught using his mobile phone behind the wheel and driving through a red light

Hugo Vickers, a royal historian and constitutional expert, said: ‘This is no disrespect to the duke. In fact, it would take courage for him not to receive an honor, as this opens up the chance for the Garter on St. George’s Day, when it is normally given. This is something that most, if not all, of the Dukes of Norfolk have received sooner or later. This would be given as a personal gift from the Sovereign.”

To confuse matters further, the duke – who is reportedly worth £100m and lives at Arundel Castle in West Sussex – believes he is already full of medals. ‘I have a GCVO [Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order] which came from the Queen in 2022,” he told the MoS last night.

‘I don’t think they can go any higher. There is nothing more the king can give me. There is absolutely no truth in the suggestion that I have been rejected.”

Anyway, the king wrote him a ‘beautiful letter’ thanking him for organizing the coronation.

Last year the Duke, who was close to the late Queen, confirmed the end of his 34-year marriage to Georgina, the mother of his five children. As the oldest lay member of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain, divorce would normally be frowned upon.

But three months later he married Francesca Herbert, the ex-wife of Harry Herbert, son of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.