Crown Equerry

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The Crown Equerry (left, on horseback) escorts The Queen when carriages are used in procession. Trooping the Colour 2009 046.jpg
The Crown Equerry (left, on horseback) escorts The Queen when carriages are used in procession.

The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As executive head of the Royal Mews Department, he is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train travel is arranged by the Royal Travel Office, which also co-ordinates air transport.

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The position of Crown Equerry should not be confused with that of Equerry: although both are nominally under the Master of the Horse, the equerries have a distinct role as personal assistants to the sovereign and senior members of the royal family.

History

After 1827, the Master of the Horse became a political office, its holder changing with each change of government. To provide continuity in the management of the Royal Mews, the role of Crown Equerry was created in 1854. [1] The first incumbent was John Groves, a retired Major of the Essex Rifles; his full title was Crown Equerry, Secretary to the Master of the Horse and Superintendent of the Royal Stables. The secretarial aspect of the job led to him being seen as inferior to the other Equerries, and he was kept at one remove from the Queen and the Palace (Charles Phipps, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, was at pains to make clear in a letter to the Master of the Horse that the new office pertained 'exclusively to the Stables department'). [1] Groves died in office five years later; his successor, Colonel George Ashley Maude, remained in post for thirty-five years. During this time he consolidated the office and worked to improve the working conditions of the Mews staff. The Queen (who esteemed him 'a kind good man') granted him direct access to her person, and it became established practice that the Crown Equerry would receive and convey the monarch's instructions directly with regard to all aspects of the Royal Mews and its operations.

The job of Superintendent of the Royal Mews was established as a separate office in 1859; the Superintendent served as assistant to the Crown Equerry until 2000 when the post was abolished. In the 21st century the Crown Equerry works closely with the Comptroller, the Lord Chamberlin's Office who oversees arrangements for ceremonial occasions and briefs the Crown Equerry accordingly. [2]

List of Crown Equerries

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Stewart-Wilson, Mary (1991). The Royal Mews. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 12–17.
  2. ↑ Vickers, Hugo (2012). The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. London: Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd. p. 13.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Miller". The Daily Telegraph . 20 May 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Tomlinson, Richard (20 Dec 1992). "They also serve, who only ush". Independent.
  5. ↑ "Royal wedding carriage for William and Kate unveiled". BBC News. BBC. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.

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