Private Secretary to the Sovereign

Private Secretary to the Sovereign
Royal Coat of Arms
Incumbent Sir Clive Alderton since 8 September 2022
Royal Households of the United Kingdom
Style	The Right Honourable (UK and the Commonwealth)
Member of	Privy Council
Reports to	The Sovereign
Seat	Buckingham Palace
Nominator	The Sovereign
Appointer	The Sovereign
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	1805
First holder	Herbert Taylor
Deputy	Deputy 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, whose duties are largely ceremonial). The private secretary is the principal channel of communication between the monarch and the governments in most of the Commonwealth realms. ^{[note 1]} They also have responsibility for the official programme and correspondence of the sovereign. Through these roles the position wields considerable influence. This is one of the most senior positions within the Royal Household.

The office of private secretary was first established in 1805. As of 2024 ^[update] the position has been held exclusively by men. One woman has served as both deputy and assistant private secretary and an additional two women have served as assistant private secretaries. The current private secretary position is held by Sir Clive Alderton.

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 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 connection with other households, the Royal Train, The King'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, Royal Communications, 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 has customarily received a peerage upon retirement (a life peerage since 1972, although a small number have been given hereditary titles). Until 1965, peerages granted to Private Secretaries were hereditary baronies, with the exception of Lord Knollys, who was created a viscount in 1911. All private secretaries since the time of Lord Stamfordham have been created peers, with the exceptions of Sir Alexander Hardinge (inherited his father's barony in 1944), Sir Alan Lascelles (declined as he felt titles to be a show of self-importance) and Sir William Heseltine (who is an Australian).

Private secretaries to the sovereign are always appointed Knights Bachelor, or knights of one of the orders of chivalry, typically the Order of the Bath or the Royal Victorian Order. The same is true for Principal Private Secretaries to other members of the Royal Household, such as William, Prince of Wales.

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 royal communications, the Royal Archives, and the office of the Defence Services Secretary.

There are 57 people employed in the office of the monarch's private secretary. ^[1]

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

Reporting to the private secretary is the role of director for security liaison which was established following a recommendation of the Security Commission in 2004. ^[2] The post was first held by Brigadier Jeffrey Cook who was in office from 2004 to 2008. The private secretary has general oversight of security policy, 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

Private Secretary		Term of office		Peerage	Monarch (Reign)
	Colonel Herbert Taylor	1805	1811		George III (1760–1820; under regency from 1811)
	Colonel Sir Sir John McMahon, 1st Baronet	1811	1817	[3]	The Prince Regent, later George IV (1820–1830)
	Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield	1817	1822	Baron Bloomfield
	Sir William Knighton	1822	1830
	Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor	1830	1837		William IV (1830–1837)
	William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (informally, while Prime Minister)	1837	1840		Victoria (1837–1901)
	Prince Albert (informally)	1840	1861
	Colonel Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps	1861	1866
	General Charles Grey	1861	1870
	Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby	1870	1895
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge	1895	1901	Baron Stamfordham
	Francis Knolyss, 1st Baron Knollys	1901	1910	Viscount Knollys	Edward VII (1901–1910)
		1910	1913		George V (1910–1936)
	Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham		1931
	Colonel Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram	1931	1936
	Major Sir Alec Hardinge	1936	1936	Baron Hardinge of Penshurst	Edward VIII (1936)
		1936	1943		George VI (1936–1952)
	Captain Sir Alan Lascelles	1943	6 February 1952	[4]
		6 February 1952	1953		Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Michael Adeane	1 January 1954	1 April 1972	Baron Adeane (for life)
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Martin Charteris	1 April 1972	12 November 1977	Baron Charteris of Amisfield (for life)
	Sir Philip Moore	12 November 1977	1 April 1986	Baron Moore of Wolvercote (for life)
	Sir William Heseltine	1 April 1986	19 October 1990
	Sir Robert Fellowes	19 October 1990	4 February 1999	Baron Fellowes (for life)
	Lieutenant Sir Robin Janvrin	4 February 1999	8 September 2007	Baron Janvrin (for life)
	Sir Christopher Geidt	8 September 2007	17 October 2017	Baron Geidt (for life)
	Sir Edward Young	17 October 2017	8 September 2022	Baron Young of Old Windsor (for life)
		8 September 2022	15 May 2023		Charles III (2022–present)
	Sir Clive Alderton		present

Deputy private secretaries to the sovereign since 1972

Deputy Private Secretary	From	To
Sir Philip Moore	1972	1977
Sir William Heseltine	1977	1986
Sir Robert Fellowes	1986	1990
Sir Kenneth Scott	1990	1996
Sir Robin Janvrin	1996	1999
Mary Francis	February 1999	June 1999
Christopher Geidt	2005	2007
Edward Young	2007	2017
David Hogan-Hern	2022	2022
John Sorabji		2023
Matthew Magee		2024 [5]
Chris Fitzgerald		2024
Theo Rycroft	2024	present [6]

Assistant private secretaries to the sovereign since 1878

Assistant Private Secretary	From	To
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Fleetwood Edwards	1878	1895
Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge	1880	1895
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Ponsonby	1895	1914
Colonel Sir Arthur Davidson	1901	1910
Colonel Sir Clive Wigram	1910	1931
Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer	1916	1920
Major Sir Alexander Hardinge	1920	1936
Sir Frank Herbert Mitchell	1931	1937
Sir Alan Lascelles	1935	1943
Sir Godfrey Thomas	1936	1936
Major Sir Michael Adeane	1936	1953
Sir Eric Mieville	1937	1945
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edward Ford	1946	1967
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Martin Charteris	1952	1972
Philip Moore	1966	1972
William Heseltine	1972	1977
Robert Fellowes	1977	1985
Sir Kenneth Scott	1985	1990
Robin Janvrin	1990	1995
Mary Francis	1996	1999
Tim Hitchens	1999	2002
Kay Brock
Stuart Shilson	2001	2004
Christopher Geidt	2002	2005
Edward Young	2004	2007
Douglas King	2007	2012
Samantha Cohen	2010	2018
Tom Laing-Baker	2018	2022
Matthew Magee
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi	2022	2023

See also

• Canadian Secretary to the King
• Private secretary

Notes

1. The principal channel of communication between the monarch and the governments in Canada is the Canadian Secretary to the King.

References

1. "'The firm': Royal org chart shows 1,133 people who work for the Queen". www.insider.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
2. "Report of the Security Commission - May 2004" (PDF).
3. Received a Baronetage. McMahon baronets of Ashley Manor
4. Refused a Peerage. He did, however, accept appointment as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath which, he said, "rated much higher than a peerage"
5. Magee, Matthew (June 2024). "LinkedIn" . Retrieved 14 June 2024.
6. Rebecca English [@RE_DailyMail] (December 14, 2024). "Theo Rycroft appointed Deputy Private Secretary to the Sovereign by King Charles III" (Tweet) – via Twitter.