The Earl Marshal is always the Duke of Norfolk , and because he is Earl Marshal the Duke of Norfolk is a member of the House of Lords without being elected by the other hereditary peers . The title was `` Marshal '' until William Marshal , Earl of Pembroke , whose titles of `` Earl '' and `` Marshal , '' though separate ( although he is often referred to now as `` Earl Marshal '' ) , made it stand for something . After it came into the family of the Dukes of Norfolk , it evolved into `` Earl Marshal '' .