Private Secretary to the Sovereign

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 Private Secretary is the principal channel of communication with Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and with the governments of the other fifteen Commonwealth realms. He or she also has responsibility for the official programme and correspondence of the Sovereign. Through these roles the position wields considerable influence.

The office of Private Secretary was first established in 1805. The current Private Secretary is the Rt Hon. Sir Christopher Geidt, KCVO OBE, who succeeded Sir Robin Janvrin (now Lord Janvrin) in September 2007.^[1]

The sovereign of Denmark also has a Private Secretary with similar functions to those of the United Kingdom office.

Contents 1 History 2 Functions 2.1 Liaison with the Government 2.2 Security 3 List of Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1805 3.1 Deputy Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1972 3.2 Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1878 4 References 5 See also

History

Colonel Herbert Taylor, who was appointed in 1805, is acknowledged as the first Private Secretary to the Sovereign. However, the office was not formally established until 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 or her 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; her husband Prince Albert had effectively been her secretary until his death.

Functions

The principal functions of the office are:

• to act as a channel of communication between the Sovereign and his or her governments, and to advise the Sovereign on constitutional, political or governmental questions;
• to organise the official programme of the Sovereign, and to ensure its acceptability to 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; and
• to deal with the Sovereign's official correspondence (including congratulatory messages), from members of the public, the Press Office, and the Court Circular; and also to deal with the Sovereign's private papers, the Royal Archives, and the monarchy's official website.

The position of Private Secretary is regarded as equivalent to that of the permanent secretary of a government department. The incumbent is always made a Privy Counsellor on appointment, and customarily receives a peerage upon retirement.

The Private Secretary is head of only one of the several operational divisions of the Royal Household. However, he or she is involved in co-ordination between various parts of the Household, and has direct control over the Press Office, the Queen's Archives, and the office of the Defence Services Secretary.

Liaison with the Government

The Private Secretary is responsible for liaising with the Cabinet Secretary, the Privy Council Office (PCO), and the Ministry of Justice's Crown Office in relation to:

• appointments that are formally made by the Sovereign;
• the scheduling of the meetings of the Privy Council; and
• the transmission of official documents that need to be signed by the Sovereign.

Security

A recent addition to the Private Secretary's Office is the post of Director for Security Liaison, currently held by Brigadier Jeffrey Cook, OBE MC, who was appointed in 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.

List of Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1805

Sovereign	Private Secretary	From	To
George III	Colonel Herbert Taylor	1805	1811
The Prince Regent (George IV from 1820)	Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir John McMahon, Bt	1811	1817
	Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, GCB	1817	1822
	Sir William Knighton, Bt, MD	1822	1830
William IV	Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor, GCB GCH	1830	1837
Queen Victoria	HRH The Prince Consort (informally)	1840	1861
	General the Hon. Sir Charles Grey	1861	1870
	Major-General the Rt Hon. Sir Henry Ponsonby, GCB	1870	1895
	Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir Arthur Bigge, KCB CMG (later Lord Stamfordham)	1895	1901
Edward VII	The Rt Hon. Lord Knollys, GCB GCVO KCMG ISO	1901	1910
George V	The Rt Hon Lord Knollys, GCB GCVO KCMG ISO	1910	1913
	Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt Hon. Lord Stamfordham, GCB GCVO GCIE KCSI KCMG ISO	1910	1931
	Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir Clive Wigram, GCB GCVO CSI (later Lord Wigram)	1931	1936
Edward VIII	Major the Rt Hon. Sir Alexander Hardinge, GCVO KCB MC (later Lord Hardinge of Penshurst)	1936	1936
George VI	Major the Rt Hon. Sir Alexander Hardinge, GCVO KCB MC	1936	1943
	Captain the Rt Hon Sir Alan Lascelles, GCB GCVO CMG MC	1943	1952
Elizabeth II	Captain the Rt Hon Sir Alan Lascelles, GCB GCVO CMG MC	1952	1953
	Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir Michael Adeane, GCB GCVO (later Lord Adeane)	1953	1972
	Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir Martin Charteris, GCB GCVO OBE (later Lord Charteris of Amisfield)	1972	1977
	The Rt Hon. Sir Philip Moore, GCB GCVO CMG (later Lord Moore of Wolvercote)	1977	1986
	The Rt Hon. Sir William Heseltine, GCB GCVO AC	1986	1990
	The Rt Hon. Sir Robert Fellowes, GCB GCVO (later Lord Fellowes)	1990	1999
	The Rt Hon. Sir Robin Janvrin, GCB GCVO (later Lord Janvrin)	1999	2007
	The Rt Hon Sir Christopher Geidt, KCVO OBE	2007

Deputy Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1972

Deputy Private Secretary	From	To
Sir Philip Moore, KCVO CB CMG	1972	1977
Sir William Heseltine, KCVO CB	1977	1986
Sir Robert Fellowes, KCVO CB	1986	1990
Sir Kenneth Scott, KCVO CMG	1990	1996
Sir Robin Janvrin, KCVO CB	1996	1999
Mrs Mary Francis, CBE, LVO	February 1999	June 1999
Mr Christopher Geidt, CVO, OBE	2005	2007
Mr Edward Young, LVO	2007

Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1878

Assistant Private Secretary	From	To
Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt Hon. Sir Fleetwood Edwards, KCB	1878	1895
Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge, KCB	1880	1895
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Ponsonby, KCB KCVO	1895	1914
Colonel Sir Arthur Davidson, KCB KCVO	1901	1910
Colonel Sir Clive Wigram, KCVO CB CSI	1910	1931
The Earl of Cromer	1916	1920
Major the Hon. Sir Alexander Hardinge, CB CVO MC	1920	1936
Sir Frank Mitchell, KCVO CBE	1931	1937
Sir Alan Lascelles, KCVO CB CMG	1935	1943
Sir Godfrey Thomas, Bt KCVO CSI	1936	1936
Major Sir Michael Adeane, KCVO CB	1936	1953
Sir Eric Mieville, KCIE KCVO CSI CMG	1937	1945
Sir Edward Ford, GCVO KCB ERD DL	1946	1967
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Martin Charteris, KCVO CB OBE	1952	1972
Mr Philip Moore, CMG	1966	1972
Mr William Heseltine, CVO	1972	1977
Mr Robert Fellowes, LVO	1977	1985
Sir Kenneth Scott, KCVO CMG	1985	1990
Mr Robin Janvrin, CVO	1990	1995
Mrs Mary Francis	1996	1999
Mr Tim Hitchens, LVO	1999	2002
Mrs Kay Brock, LVO	1999	2002
Mr Stuart Shilson, LVO	2001	2004
Mr Christopher Geidt, OBE	2002	2005
Mr Edward Young	2004	2007
Mr Douglas King	2007

References

1. ^ "Announcement of the retirement of Sir Robin Janvrin" (Press release). Buckingham Palace. 2006-12-19. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5721.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-01. 

See also

• Canadian Secretary to the Queen