Alhough the castle remained in the hands of the Howard family throughout through the succeeding centuries, it was not their favorite residence, and the various successors as Duke of Norfolk invested their time and energy into improving other estates, including Norfolk House in London and Kenninghall in Norfolk.

Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk was known for his restoration work and improvements to the castle beginning at the end of the 1700’s and continuing for a number of years, as he desired to live there and entertain his visitors there. Many of his improvements have since been revised and remodeled, but the library in the castle is still as he had it designed and built. He held a large party at Arundel Castle to reunite the various senior members of the Howard family shortly before his death in 1815.

In 1846, Queen Victoria visited Arundel Castle for a few days. Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk had remodeled the castle in time for her visit. He was thinking of disposing of some of the 11th Duke of Norfolk’s work, as there had been several complaints from the celebrities of the day that it was too cold, dark and unfriendly. The Duke devised a brand new apartment block for the new Queen and her Consort, Prince Albert, commissioning a portrait of the Queen and decorating the block with the finest of Victorian furniture and art. There was also a re-structuring of bedrooms for the court. The Duke spared no expense to make the Queen’s visit enjoyable, and he succeeded. The Queen was received on the 1st December 1846 by the Duke, Mayor of Arundel Edward Howard Howard-Gibbon, and other town dignitaries, and then she retired to her private apartments. On her visit she walked in the newly designed grounds and visited areas of the county nearby, including Petworth House. Almost every part of the castle that the Queen would visit was re-furbished and exquisitely decorated to meet Royal standards. At the end of her visit, she wrote to the Duke and commented on how enjoyable her visit was, commenting on the “beautiful” castle and the friendliness of her reception. The suite of rooms in which Victoria stayed have remained virtually untouched, they are now called the ‘Victoria Rooms’. Among other things on display in these rooms are the Queen’s bed, the guest book bearing her and her Consort’s signature and her toilet.

Soon after the Royal visit the 14th Duke began re-structuring the castle once again. The 14th Duke died before its completion, and the work was overseen by his successor, the 15th Duke. Work was completed in 1900, and the castle began to look like the amazing architecture on display today. Changes were made to the grounds and he addressed the dark Victorian gardens and made them exquisitely bright and colourful. The problem of light within the castle itself was addressed by the replacement of windows to make the interior brighter. The keep was restructured later on, but the original keep was kept until then for its antiquity and picturesque setting. Before the reconstruction the Duke’s family kept a colony of owls. An owl is said to appear at a window when a family member is about to die. Today, the castle is still the principal seat of the Dukes of Norfolk, also the Earls Marshal of England. Most of the building is open to the general public, except for the private apartments within the quadrangle.