Household of Elizabeth II


The Royal Households of the United Kingdom consist of royal officials and the supporting staff of the British royal family, as well as the Royal Household which supports the Sovereign. Each member of the Royal Family who undertakes public duties has their own separate household.
When Elizabeth II was still a Princess she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947. After that marriage they shared the Household of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
When she succeeded her father George VI as sovereign of the United Kingdom, she appointed a new household, known as the Household of the Sovereign 1952–2022.
The Duke of Edinburgh then received a separate household upon his wife's accession, the Household of the Duke of Edinburgh until his death in 2021.
With the passing of the Queen on 8 September 2022 the Household of the Sovereign passed to her son, King Charles III.

Great officers of the Household

Lord Chamberlain

The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the highest-ranking official of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, overseeing the departments that support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, while also acting as the main channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords.
NameBeganEndedNotes
George Villiers, 6th Earl of Clarendon5 August 19521952His tenure carried over from the reign of King George VI
Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough19521963
Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold29 January 196330 November 1971
Charles Maclean, Baron Maclean1 December 197130 November 1984
David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie1 December 198431 December 1997
Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys1 January 199831 May 2000
Richard Luce, Baron Luce1 October 200015 October 2006
William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel16 October 200631 March 2021
Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere1 April 20218 September 2022His tenure carried over into the reign of King Charles III

Vice Chamberlain

The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain. The Vice Chamberlain's main duties are to compile a daily private report for the Sovereign on the proceedings in the House of Commons and to transmit addresses from the Commons to the Sovereign and vice versa.
NameEntered officeLeft officeNotesReference
Henry Studholme5 August 1952; tenure began 7 November 19511956He began his tenure under King George VI
Richard Thompson19561957
Peter Legh19571959Became Treasurer of the Household; succeeded as The Lord Newton in 1960
Edward Wakefield19591960Became Treasurer of the Household
Richard Brooman-White19601960
Graeme Finlay19601964
William Whitlock19641966
Jack McCann19661967
Charles Morris19671969Became Treasurer of the Household
Alan Fitch19691970
Jasper More19701971
Bernard Weatherill19711972Became Comptroller of the Household; created The Lord Weatherill in 1992
Walter Clegg19721973Became Comptroller of the Household
Paul Hawkins19731974
Don Concannon19741974
James Hamilton19741978Became Comptroller of the Household
Donald Coleman19781979
Anthony Berry19791981Became Comptroller of the Household
Carol Mather19811983Became Comptroller of the Household
Robert Boscawen19831986Became Comptroller of the Household
Tristan Garel-Jones19861988Became Comptroller of the Household; created The Lord Garel-Jones in 1997
Michael Neubert19881988
Tony Durant19881990
David Lightbown19901990Became Comptroller of the Household
John Mark Taylor19901992
Sydney Chapman19921995
Timothy Kirkhope19951996
Andrew MacKay19961996
Derek Conway19961997
Janet Anderson19971998
Graham Allen19982001
Gerry Sutcliffe20012003
Jim Fitzpatrick20032005
John Heppell20052007
Liz Blackman20072008
Claire Ward20082009
Helen Jones20092010
Mark Francois20102012
Greg Knight20122013Previously Treasurer of the Household 1993-96
Desmond Swayne20132014
Anne Milton20142015
Kris Hopkins20152016
Julian Smith20162017Became Treasurer of the Household
Chris Heaton-Harris20172018Became Comptroller of the Household
Mark Spencer20182018Became Comptroller of the Household
Andrew Stephenson20182019
Craig Whittaker20192019
Stuart Andrew20192020Became Treasurer of the Household
Marcus Jones20202021Became Comptroller of the Household
James Morris20212022
Michael Tomlinson20222022
Jo Churchill20222022Her tenure carried over into the reign of King Charles III

Lord Steward

The Lord Steward of the Household manages the Treasurer of the Household and Comptroller of the Household, who rank next to him. The appointee is always a peer, and is the first dignitary of the court.
NameBeganEndedNotes
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton5 August 1952; tenure began 1 June 19401964He began this position in 1940 under King George VI; his tenure carried over into Elizabeth II's reign
Gerald Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster19641967
Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham19671972
Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland19731988
Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley19892001
James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn20012009
James Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie20098 September 2022His tenure carried over into the reign of King Charles III

Treasurer of the Household

The Treasurer of the Household is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The Treasurer is automatically a member of the privy council.

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. In recent times, a senior government whip has invariably occupied the office. On state occasions the Comptroller, in common with certain other senior officers of the Household, carries a white staff of office, as often seen in portraits.
NameEntered officeLeft officeNotes
Roger John Edward Conant5 August 1952, had served as Comptroller since 19511954
Tam Galbraith19541955
Hendrie Oakshott19551957
Gerald Wills19571958
Sir Edward Wakefield, 1st Baronet195816 January 1959
Harwood Harrison16 January 19596 July 1961
Robin Chichester-Clark6 July 19611964
Charles Grey19641966
William Whitlock (politician)19661967
William Howie19671968
Ioan Evans19681970
Walter Elliot19701970
Reginald Eyre19707 April 1972
Bernard Weatherill7 April 19722 December 1973
Walter Clegg2 December 197328 February 1974
Joseph Harper28 February 197424 June 1978
James Hamilton24 June 19787 May 1979
Spencer Le Marchant7 May 197930 September 1981
Anthony Berry30 September 198117 February 1983
Carol Mather17 February 198316 October 1986
Robert Boscawen16 October 198626 July 1988
Tristan Garel-Jones26 July 198825 July 1989
Alastair Goodlad25 July 198914 July 1990
Sir George Young, 6th Baronet14 July 199028 November 1990
David Lightbown28 November 199012 December 1995
Timothy Wood12 December 19952 May 1997
Tommy McAvoy2 May 19975 October 2008
John Spellar5 October 200811 May 2010
Alistair Carmichael11 May 20107 October 2013
Don Foster7 October 201311 May 2015
Gavin Barwell11 May 201517 July 2016
Mel Stride17 July 20162 June 2017
Christopher Pincher15 June 20175 November 2017
Chris Heaton-Harris9 January 20189 July 2018
Mark Spencer15 July 201834 July 2019
Jeremy Quin28 July 20196 December 2019
Mike Freer16 December 20196 September 2021
Marcus Jones17 September 20218 July 2022
Rebecca Harris8 July 20228 September 2022Her tenure carried over into the reign of King Charles III

Master of the Horse

The Master of the Horse is the third dignitary of the court. It is a primarily ceremonial office, and rarely appears except on state occasions, and especially when the Sovereign is mounted. There are still several pages of honour who are nominally in the master of the horse's department. They are youths aged from twelve to sixteen, selected by the sovereign in person, to attend on him at state ceremonies.
NameEntered officeLeft officeNotes
Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort5 August 19521972He began this position in 1936 under King Edward VIII
David Fane, 15th Earl of Westmorland19781991
Savile Crossley, 3rd Baron Somerleyton19911998
Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey19992018
Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley1 January 20198 September 2022His tenure carried over into the reign of King Charles III

Private Secretary's Office

Private Secretary to the Sovereign

5 August 1952: Sir Alan Lascelles

Assistant Private Secretaries

Press Secretary

5 August 1952: Commander Richard Colville

Privy Purse and Treasurer's Office

Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to The Queen

5 August 1952: Sir James Ulick Alexander

Deputy Treasurer to The Queen and Secretary of the Privy Purse

5 August 1952: Commander Sir Dudley Colles

Assistant Keeper of the Privy Purse

5 August 1952: Brigadier Charles George Vivian, Baron Tryon

Almonry

High Almoner

5 August 1952: Edward Sydney Woods, Bishop of Lichfield

Sub-Almoner

5 August 1952: The Reverend Maurice Foxell

Pages of Honour

  • 5 August 1952: Henry Charles Seymour
  • 5 August 1952: Michael Anson
  • 5 August 1952: Jonathan Sidney Peel
  • 5 August 1952: Henry Crichton, 6th Earl Erne

Lord Chamberlain's Office

Comptroller, Lord Chamberlain's Office

5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Terence Nugent

Assistant Comptroller, Lord Chamberlain's Office

5 August 1952: Brigadier Sir Norman Gwatkin

Royal Mews Department

Crown Equerry

5 August 1952: Colonel Sir Dermot McMorrough Kavanagh

Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps

5 August 1952: Major-General Guy Salisbury-Jones

Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps

5 August 1952: Marcus Cheke

Assistant Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps

5 August 1952: Captain Sir John Lindsay Dashwood, 10th Baronet

The Master of the Household's Department

Master of the Household

Lords in Waiting

Equerries

Equerries

Temporary Equerries

Extra Equerries

Gentleman Ushers">Lady and Gentleman Usher">Gentleman Ushers

  • 5 August 1952: Captain Humphrey Lloyd
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Bache de Satge
  • 5 August 1952: Rear-Admiral Sir Arthur Bromley
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Geoffrey Codrington
  • 5 August 1952: Captain William Phipps
  • 5 August 1952: Captain Sir Frank Spickernell
  • 5 August 1952: Captain Philip Neville
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Guy Rasch
  • 5 August 1952: Air Vice-Marshal Sir George Reid

Extra Gentlemen Ushers

Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State

5 August 1952: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt

Ecclesiastical Household

College of Chaplains

Clerk of the Closet

5 August 1952: Percy Herbert, Bishop of Norwich.

Deputy Clerk of the Closet

5 August 1952: Maurice Foxell

Chaplains

Chapels Royal

Dean

5 August 1952: William Wand, Bishop of London.

Sub-Dean

5 August 1952: Maurice Foxell

Priests

  • 5 August 1952: Cyril Armitage
  • 5 August 1952: Erik Donne
  • 5 August 1952: George Sage

Deputy-Priests

Honorary Priest

5 August 1952: Trevitt Hine-Haycock

Organist, Choirmaster and Composer at Her Majesty's Chapels Royal

5 August 1952: Edgar Roper, Esquire

Domestic Chaplains

Chaplain, Royal Chapel, Windsor Great Park

5 August 1952: Peter Gillingham

Chaplain, Hampton Court Palace

5 August 1952: Prebendary Herbert Harris

Organist, Hampton Court Palace

5 August 1952: William James Phillips

Chaplains in Scotland

Domestic Chaplain

5 August 1952: John Lamb.

Medical Household

Physicians

Physicians to the Household

Physician-Paediatrician

Extra Physicians

Sergeant-Surgeon

Surgeons

  • 5 August 1952: Sir James Ross.
  • 5 August 1952: Ralph Marnham.
  • 17 March 1964: Edward Muir.
  • January 1969: Edward Tuckwell.
  • December 1974: Hugh Lockhart-Mummery
  • 12 May 1975: William Slack.
  • 29 April 1983: John Dawson.
  • Roger Vickers.
  • 4 January 2007: George Hamilton.

Surgeon to Her Majesty's Household

  • 17 March 1964: Edward Tuckwell
  • January 1969: Hugh Lockhart-Mummery
  • 12 May 1975: John Dawson
  • 29 April 1983: Barry Jackson
  • 22 February 1991: Adam Lewis
  • George Hamilton.
  • 4 January 2007: Satyajit Bhattacharya
  • 10 August 2016: Ian Jenkins

Surgeon-Gynaecologist/Surgeon-Gynaecologist to the Queen

Surgeon-Gynaecologist to the Household

  • 18 November 2008: Alan Farthing.
  • 30 June 2008: Guy Thorpe-Beeston.

Extra Surgeons

Extra Manipulative Surgeon

Extra Surgeon-Apothecary

  • 5 August 1952: Sir Frederick Hewett

Surgeon-Oculist/Surgeon-Oculist to the Queen

  • 5 August 1952: Sir Stewart Duke-Elder.
  • 30 April 1965: Allen Goldsmith.
  • 27 November 1974: Stephen Miller.
  • 21 July 1980: Sir Patrick Sellors.
  • 3 February 1999: Timothy ffytche.
  • 7 March 2002: Jonathan Jagger.

Extra Orthopaedic Surgeon

Aurist

  • 5 August 1952: John McLaggan
  • 11 July 1961: James Hogg

Surgeon-Dentist

Extra Physician to the Household

Surgeon-Oculist to the Household

  • 5 August 1952: Allen Goldsmith.
  • 30 April 1965: Stephen Miller.
  • 27 November 1974: Patrick Sellors.
  • 21 July 1980: Timothy ffytche.
  • 3 February 1999: Jonathan Jagger.
  • 1 January 2002: Veronica Ferguson.

Extra Surgeon-Oculist to the Household

Apothecary to the Household

Surgeon-Apothecary to the Household at Windsor

  • 5 August 1952: Richard May.
  • 9 March 1965: John Clayton.
  • 13 July 1986: John Briscoe.
  • 29 June 1997: Jonathan Holliday.

Extra Surgeon-Apothecary to the Household at Windsor

  • 5 August 1952: Edmund Maiden

Surgeon-Apothecary to the Household at Sandringham

  • 5 August 1952: James Ansell.
  • 1 November 1965: Hugh Ford.
  • 22 February 1992: Ian Campbell.

Medical Household in Scotland

Physicians

  • 5 August 1952: Greig Anderson
  • 5 August 1952: Sir John McNee
  • 5 August 1952: Stanley Davidson

Surgeons

Surgeon-Oculist

Surgeon-Dentist

  • 5 August 1952: Robert Dow

Surgeon-Apothecary to the Household at Balmoral

  • 5 August 1952: George Middleton

Surgeon-Apothecary to the Household at the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Surgeon-Apothecaries/Apothecaries to HM Household at the Palace of Holyroodhouse1908 – 1922: W.B. Alexander 1923 – 1929: D.J. Graham 1987 – 1990: H.H. Gebbie 1991 – 2001: J.J.C. Cormack 2001—: J.R. Robertson 2016—: Robin Balfour

Military establishment

Gentlemen-at-Arms

Captain

5 August 1952: Colonel Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue

Lieutenant

5 August 1952: Brigadier-General Sir Harvey Kearsley

Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant

Gentlemen of the Corps

  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Sir Edward Le Breton.
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Ughtred Carnegy Carnegy
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Harold Charrington
  • 5 August 1952: Major Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel William Cuninghame
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Bartle Edwards
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Robert Walsh
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Lancelot Gibbs
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Glynn
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Edward Digby, 11th Baron Digby
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Henry Walter Houldsworth
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel John Colvin
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Previte
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Thomas Fairfax-Ross
  • 5 August 1952: Major-General William Fox-Pitt
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier John Cheney
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Fulford.
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Sir Henry Floyd, 5th Baronet
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Sir Robert Gooch, 11th Baronet
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel William Amory
  • 5 August 1952: Colonel Sir John Carew Pole, 12th Baronet
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Robert Daniell
  • 5 August 1952: Brigadier Anthony Pepys
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Makins, 3rd Baronet

[Yeomen of the Guard]

Captain

5 August 1952: William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow

Lieutenant

5 August 1952: Major-General Sir Allan Adair, 6th Baronet

Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant

5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Bingham

Ensign

5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Turner

Exons

5 August 1952: Brigadier William Carr
Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster

Other appointments

Groom in Waiting

Extra Groom in Waiting

Groom of the Robes

5 August 1952: Captain Sir Harold Campbell

Parliament

Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

5 August 1952: Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Horrocks

Sergeants-at-Arms

  • 5 August 1952: George Titman
  • 5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Commander Albert Stone
  • 5 August 1952: George Frederick Thomas Hopkins, Esquire
  • - February 2018: Brian Stanley

Sergeant-at-Arms, House of Lords

5 August 1952: Air Vice-Marshal Sir Paul Maltby

Sergeant-at-Arms, House of Commons

5 August 1952: Brigadier Sir Charles Howard

The Queen's Archives

Keeper

5 August 1952: Sir Alan Lascelles

Librarian

5 August 1952: Sir Owen Morshead

Keeper of the Jewel House, Tower of London

5 August 1952: Major-General Hervey Sitwell

Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures

5 August 1952: Professor Anthony Blunt

Deputy Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures

5 August 1952: Oliver Millar

Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art

5 August 1952: Sir James Mann
10 July 2019:Caroline de Guitaut. Appointed as deputy Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art. Appointed Surveyor of the King's Works of Art in 2024.
Responsible for over 700,000 works of art, in 13 royal palaces, including the King's official residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse. 1st woman to hold the position.

Master of the Queen's Music

5 August 1952: Sir Arnold Bax

Poet Laureate

5 August 1952: John Masefield

Honorary Veterinary Surgeons

  • 5 August 1952: Captain Thomas Wright
  • 5 August 1952: Edmond Paterson

Coroner of the Household

5 August 1952: Lieutenant-Colonel William Hilgrove Leslie McCarthy

Captain of The Queen's Flight

5 August 1952: Air Commodore Sir Edward Fielden
15 February 1968: Air Commodore Sir Archibald Winskill

Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot

5 August 1952: Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk