Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, was a member of the extended British royal family, as a great-grandson of King George III, a brother of Queen Mary, uncle to the Kings Edward VIII and George VI, and the husband of Princess Alice of Albany. He was a British Army commander, who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa and Governor General of Canada.
Prince Arthur of Connaught was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 to 21 January 1924.
Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell, was a British Army officer. After serving as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, South Africa, he fought in the 9th Xhosa War, the Anglo-Zulu War and then the Anglo-Egyptian War. He went on to become Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Egyptian Army and commanded the forces at the Battle of Suakin in December 1888 and at the Battle of Toski in August 1889 during the Mahdist War. After that he became Governor of Malta and then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland before retiring in 1908.
Major General Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk,, known between 1971 and 1972 as the Lord Beaumont and until 1975 as the Lord Beaumont and Howard of Glossop, was a British Army general and peer. He was the eldest son of Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop, and his wife Mona Fitzalan-Howard, 11th Baroness Beaumont.
Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine,, styled Lord Bruce before 1968, is a Scottish peer and Chief of Clan Bruce.
Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Michael Charles Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield, was a British Army officer and courtier of Queen Elizabeth II. Charteris was the longest-serving Assistant Private Secretary to the Sovereign, having served for over 18 years in that position. Later, he became Private Secretary to the Sovereign.
General Sir Nicholas Ralph Parker, is a former British Army officer who served as Commander Land Forces until December 2012.
Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe, was a senior British Army officer. After he retired from the army, he was the last British-born Governor of Victoria, Australia from 1963 to 1974.
The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, from the large household that supports the sovereign to the household of the Prince and Princess of Wales, with fewer members.
Lieutenant General Sir Alexander Crawford Simpson Boswell, was a British Army officer. He joined the army as junior officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders shortly after the Second World War and, following a series of regimental and staff postings, was second-in-command of 1st Battalion the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He later commanded the battalion, then 39th Infantry Brigade, before taking command of the 2nd Armoured Division in 1978. He was later the General Officer Commanding in Scotland and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey before retiring in 1990.
Major-General Jonathan Michael Francis Cooper Hall is a retired British Army officer, who served as the General Officer Commanding Scotland and the Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 1995 to 1997.
General Sir Richard Chambré Hayes Taylor was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. Joining the General Staff in 1860, he was the British Army's Inspector General of Recruiting, then Deputy Adjutant-General to the Forces, briefly Adjutant-General, and finally for three years Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was also Colonel of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and the East Surrey Regiment.
Lieutenant-General Sir James Parlane Baird, was a British Army officer and doctor. He served as Director General Army Medical Services from 1973 to 1977.
Major General Michael Lawrence Riddell-Webster, is a retired British Army officer. He served as Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 2015 to 2019.
Major General Robert Bernard Bruce, is a former British Army officer. Since September 2024, he has served as Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
General Dame Sharon Patricia Moffat Nesmith, is a senior British Army officer. She has been Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff since June 2024, having served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff from August 2022 to May 2024. She became the first woman to command a British Army brigade in 2014, the first woman to command a British division-level formation in 2021, the first woman to be promoted to lieutenant general in the British Army in 2022 and the first to be promoted to general in 2024.
Brigadier Archibald John Miller-Bakewell is a former British Army officer and royal aide. After attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he joined the British Army Household Cavalry regiment the Blues and Royals in 1975. Miller-Bakewell reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the regiment in 1991 and transferred to the Scots Guards, a foot guards regiment, in 1994. He served on Operation Banner in Northern Ireland in 1996–1997, for which he received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service. Miller-Bakewell became a brigadier in 2004 and retired at this rank in 2010. After retirement he became private secretary and treasurer to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He held the role until the duke's death in 2021 and took part in his funeral procession.
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours, political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Year Honours and Birthday Honours.
