Private Secretary to the Sovereign
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The Private Secretary to the Sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, as distinct from the Great Officers of the Household.
The principal functions of the office are as follows. First, he acts as a channel of communications between the Sovereign and his or her Government, and advises on any constitutional, political or governmental questions. Secondly he organises the official programme of the Sovereign, advising on its elements, ensuring the acceptability of these to the interests of both the Sovereign and the Government. These duties including drafting speeches, maintaining liaison with other Households, the Royal Train, The Queen's Helicopter, No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF, and the armed forces — the latter through the Defence Services Secretary. Thirdly he deals with the Sovereign's official correspondence from members of the public, including congratulatory messages, the Press Office, the Court Circular, private papers, the Royal Archives, and the Buckingham Palace website.
A new addition to the Private Secretary's Office is the Director for Security Liaison, currently Brigadier Jeffrey Cook, OBE MC, appointed 2004. The Private Secretary has general oversight of security, though the Master of the Household is also involved, and the Keeper of the Privy Purse has responsibility for the ceremonial bodyguards, such as the Gentlemen at Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard.
The office of Private Secretary is comparatively new, with the first acknowledged Private Secretary being Colonel Herbert Taylor, appointed in 1805 — though the office was only officially established in 1867. Constitutionally there was some opposition on the part of Ministers to the creation of an office which might grow to have considerable influence upon the Sovereign. However, it was soon realised that the Sovereign was in need of secretarial support, since his Ministers had ceased to provide daily advice and support with the growth of ministerial government. Queen Victoria did not have a Private Secretary until she appointed General the Honourable Sir Charles Grey to the office in 1861, since her husband Albert, the Prince Consort, had been effectively her secretary.
The present position is that the Private Secretary, though being a rather prosaic title, wields considerable influence. The office is regarded as equivalent to that of the permanent secretary of a government department, and the incumbent is always made a Privy Counsellor on appointment, and normally receives a peerage on retirement. The current Private Secretary is the Rt Hon Sir Robin Janvrin, KCB KCVO, who was appointed in 1999.
The Private Secretary is head of one of the operational divisions of the Royal Household. Others are headed by the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen, the Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, the Crown Equerry, the Director of the Royal Collection, and the Master of the Household. Control is exercised by the part-time Lord Chamberlain, though the Master of the Horse is nominally in charge of the Royal Mews — the responsibility of the Crown Equerry — and the Lord Steward responsibility for the Master of the Household's Department. Other units of the Royal Household include the Royal Almonry, the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, and the Ecclesiastical Household and Medical Household. In some respects, however, these are co-ordinated by the Private Secretary, who has direct control of the Press Office, the Queen's Archives, and the office of the Defence Services Secretary.
[edit] Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1805-)
- Rt Hon Sir Robin Janvrin, KCB KCVO 1999 –
- Rt Hon Sir Robert Fellowes, GCB GCVO 1990 – 99 (Later Lord Fellowes)
- Rt Hon Sir William Heseltine, GCB GCVO AC 1986 – 1990
- Rt Hon Sir Philip Moore, GCB GCVO CMG 1977 – 1986 (Later Lord Moore of Wolvercote)
- Lieutenant-Colonel Rt Hon Sir Martin Charteris, GCB GCVO OBE 1972 – 1977 (Later Lord Charteris of Amisfield)
- Lieutenant-Colonel Rt Hon Sir Michael Adeane, GCB GCVO 1953 – 1972 (Later Lord Adeane)
- Captain Rt Hon Sir Alan Lascelles, GCB GCVO CMG MC 1943 – 1953
- Major Rt Hon Sir Alexander Hardinge, GCVO KCB MC 1936 – 1943
- Colonel Rt Hon Sir Clive Wigram GCB GCVO CSI 1931 – 1936 (later Lord Wigram)
- Lieutenant-Colonel Rt Hon Lord Stamfordham, GCB GCVO GCIE KCSI KCMG ISO 1910 – 1931
- Rt Hon Lord Knollys, GCB GCVO KCMG ISO 1901 – 1913
- Lieutenant-Colonel Rt Hon Sir Arthur Bigge, KCB CMG 1895 – 1901
- Major-General Rt Hon Sir Henry Ponsonby, GCB 1870 – 1895
- General the Honourable Sir Charles Grey 1861 – 1870
- HRH Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1840 – 1861 (unofficial)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor, GCB GCH 1830 – 1837
- Sir William Knighton, Bt MD 1822 – 1830
- Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, GCB 1817 – 1822
- Colonel Rt Hon Sir John McMahon, Bt 1811 – 1817
- Colonel Herbert Taylor 1805 – 1811
[edit] Deputy Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1972 – )
- Christopher Geidt, OBE 2005 –
- Mrs Mary Francis, LVO February – June 1999
- Sir Robin Janvrin, KCVO CB 1996 – 1999
- Sir Kenneth Scott, KCVO CMG 1990 – 1996
- Sir Robert Fellowes, KCVO CB 1986 – 1990
- Sir Wiliam Heseltine, KCVO CB 1977 – 1986
- Sir Philip Moore, KCVO CB CMG 1972 – 1977
[edit] Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1972 – )
- Christopher Geidt, OBE 2002 – 2005
- Tim Hitchens, LVO 1999 – 2002
- Mrs Mary Francis 1996 – 1999
- Robin Janvrin, CVO 1990 – 1995
- Sir Kenneth Scott, KCVO CMG 1985 – 1990
- Robert Fellowes, LVO 1977 – 1985
- William Heseltine, CVO 1972 – 1977
[edit] Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1999 – )
- Edward Young 2004 –
- Stuart Shilson, LVO 2001 – 2004
- Mrs Kay Brock, LVO 1999 – 2002
[edit] Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1878 – 1972)
- Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Martin Charteris, KCVO CB OBE 1952 – 1972
- Major Sir Michael Adeane, KCVO CB 1936 – 1953
- Sir Godfrey Thomas, Bt KCVO CSI 1936
- Major Hon Sir Alexander Hardinge, CB CVO MC 1920 – 1936
- Earl of Cromer 1916 – 1920
- Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Ponsonby, KCB KCVO 1895 – 1914
- Lieutenant-Colonel Rt Hon Sir Fleetwood Edwards, KCB 1878 – 1895
[edit] Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1880 – 1972)
- Philip Moore, CMG 1966 – 1972
- Sir Edward Ford, GCVO KCB ERD DL 1946 – 1967
- Sir Eric Mieville, KCIE KCVO CSI CMG 1937 – 1945
- Sir Frank Mitchell, KCVO CBE 1931 – 1937
- Colonel Sir Clive Wigram, KCVO CB CSI 1910 – 1931
- Colonel Sir Arthur Davidson, KCB KCVO 1901 – 1910
- Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge, KCB 1880 – 1895
[edit] Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign (1910 – 1943)
- Sir Alan Lascelles, KCVO CB CMG 1935 – 1943
