View source for List of officers of the Royal Victorian Order

{{short description|None}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:GCVO_star.jpg|alt=The embroidered star of an English order of Knighthood, with radiating silver rays, topped with a white Maltese cross and royal cypher in the centre|thumb|147x147px|The star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
The [[Royal Victorian Order]] is an [[order of knighthood]] awarded by the sovereign of the [[United Kingdom]] and several [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom|Royal Household]], [[British Royal Family|royal family]] members, and the organisation of important royal events.<ref name="royal">[http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/RoyalVictorianOrder.aspx "Royal Victorian Order"], ''The British Monarchy'' (accessed 16 August 2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=14951 "Royal Victorian Order"], ''The Governor-General of Canada'' (accessed 16 August 2014)</ref> The order was officially created and instituted on 23 April 1896 by [[Letters Patent|letters patent]] under the [[Great Seal of the Realm]] by [[Queen Victoria]].<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26733/page/2455 ''The London Gazette''], issue 26733, p. 2455</ref> The order has had five grades since its institution, the two highest of which confer the status of knighthood on holders (apart from foreigners, who typically received honorary awards not entitling them to the style of a knight).<ref>McCreery, 2008, p. 29</ref><ref name="debrett">[http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/honorary-knighthood Honorary Knighthood] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316003931/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/honorary-knighthood |date=2015-03-16 }}, ''[[Debrett's]]'' (accessed on 20 August 2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/Knighthoods.aspx Knighthood], ''The British Monarchy'' (accessed on 20 August 2014)</ref> Women were not admitted until [[Edward VIII]] altered the statutes of the order in 1936.<ref>Duckers, 2004, p. 38</ref> The order has five statutory officers—Grand Master, Chancellor, Secretary, Registrar and Chaplain—as well as a non-statutory Honorary Genealogist.
The order has had a chancellor and a secretary since it was founded; the former office is held ''ex officio'' by the [[Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household]], while the office of secretary has been held ''ex officio'' by the [[Keeper of the Privy Purse]] (except for the years 1936 to 1943 when the [[Private Secretary to the Sovereign|King's Private Secretary]] was also the order's secretary). The order has had a registrar since 1916; the first appointee was the Secretary of the Private Secretary's Office, Sir [[Francis Morgan Bryant]], while his two successors were [[Secretary to the Privy Purse|Secretaries to the Privy Purse]]; since 1936, the Registrar has always been the Secretary of the [[Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood]]. On 1 February 1937, King George VI appointed his Queen, [[Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother|Elizabeth]] (later the Queen Mother) as the order's inaugural Grand Master; after her death in 2002, the office fell vacant until [[Elizabeth II]] appointed her daughter, [[Princess Anne, Princess Royal]], Grand Master. The [[Savoy Chapel]] was made the order's chapel in 1938 and its chaplain has also been ''ex officio'' the order's chaplain ever since. Since 1938, the order has also had an Honorary Genealogist, who has also been an [[Officer of Arms]], although appointees are not technically officers of the order, there being no provision for it in the statutes.<ref>Galloway, 1996, pp. 63–65.</ref>
== Grand Masters ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|[[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]], LG, LT, CI, GCVO, GBE, GCStJ, RRC, ONZ, CC, CD
|1937–2002
|<ref name=":1">Galloway, 1996, p. 63.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/obituaries/queen_mother/funeral_procession/service.stm "The Queen Mother's Funeral: Funeral Service"], ''BBC News'', 9 April 2002. Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|[[Anne, Princess Royal|The Princess Anne, Princess Royal]], KG, KT, GCVO, GCStJ, ADC(P), QSO, CMM, CD, GCL
|2007–present
|<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100219220802/http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/orders-of-chivalry.html "Orders of Chivalry"], ''College of St George''. Archived from [http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/orders-of-chivalry.html the original] at the [[Internet Archive]] on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|}
== Chancellors ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|[[Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom|The 1st Earl of Lathom]], GCB, PC
|1896–1898
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun|The 7th Earl of Hopetoun]], KT, GCVO, GCMG, PC (Later Marquess of Linlithgow)
|1898–1900
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Edward Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon|The 5th Earl of Clarendon]], GCB, GCVO, PC, DL
|1900–1905
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|Colonel [[Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer|The 6th Earl Spencer]], KG, GCVO, VD, PC
|1905–1912
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst|The 1st Viscount Sandhurst]], GCB, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, PC
|1912–1921
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
| Brigadier General [[John Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl|The 8th Duke of Atholl]], KT, GCVO, CB, DSO, PC, ADC
|1921–1922
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer|The 2nd Earl of Cromer]], GCB, GCIE, GCVO, PC, ADC
|1922–1938
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[George Villiers, 6th Earl of Clarendon|The 6th Earl of Clarendon]], KG, GCMG, GCVO, PC, DL
|1938–1952
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|Major General [[Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough|The 11th Earl of Scarbrough]], KG, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, TD, PC, DL
|1952–1963
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold|The 1st Lord Cobbold]], KG, GCVO, PC, DL
|1963–1971
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Charles Maclean, Baron Maclean|The Lord Maclean]], KT, GCVO, KBE, PC
|1971–1984
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|Captain [[David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie|The 13th Earl of Airlie]], KT, GCVO, PC, JP
|1984–1997
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys|The 7th Lord Camoys]], GCVO, PC, DL
|1998–2000
|
|-
|[[Richard Luce, Baron Luce|The Lord Luce]], KG, GCVO, PC, DL
|2000–2006
|
|-
|[[William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel|The 3rd Earl Peel]], GCVO, PC, DL
|2006–2021
|
|-
|[[Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere|The Lord Parker of Minsmere]], GCVO, KCB, PC
|2021–present
|
|}
== Secretaries ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel Sir [[Fleetwood Edwards]], GCVO, KCB, ISO
|1896–1901
|<ref name=":2">Galloway, 1996, p. 64.</ref>
|-
|General Sir [[Dighton Probyn]], VC, GCB, GCSI, GCVO, ISO, PC
|1901–1910
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel Sir [[William Carington]], GCVO, KCB, PC, JP
|1910–1914
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel Sir [[Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby|Frederick Ponsonby]], GCB, GCVO, PC (later The Lord Sysonby)
|1914–1935
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Colonel [[Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram|The 1st Lord Wigram]], GCB, GCVO, CSI, PC
|1935–1936
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Major Sir [[Alexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst|Alexander Hardinge]], GCB, GCVO, MC, PC (later The 2nd Lord Hardinge of Penshurst)
|1936–1943
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Sir [[Ulick Alexander]], GCB, GCVO, CMG, OBE
|1943–1952
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Brigadier [[Charles Tryon, 2nd Baron Tryon|The 2nd Lord Tyron]], GCVO, KCB, DSO, DL
|1952–1971
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Major Sir [[Rennie Maudslay]], GCVO, KCB, MBE
|1971–1987
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Sir [[Peter Miles (courtier)|Peter Miles]], KCVO
|1981–1987
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Major Sir [[Shane Blewitt]], GCVO
|1988–1996
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Sir [[Michael Peat]], GCVO
|1996–2002
|<ref name=":2" /><ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-30416 "Peat, Sir Michael (Charles Gerrard)"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Sir [[Alan Reid (courtier)|Philip Alan Reid]], GCVO
|2002–2017
|<ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-43047 "Reid, Sir (Philip Alan)"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Sir Michael Stevens, KCVO
|2017–present
|
|}
== Registrars ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|Sir [[Francis Morgan Bryant]], CB, CVO, CBE, ISO
|1916–1931
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Rear Admiral [[Philip John Hawkins Lander Row]], CB, CVO
|1931–1932
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Commander [[Dudley Colles]], KCB, KCVO, OBE
|1932–1936
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|Major Sir [[Henry Hudson Fraser Stockley]], KCVO, OBE
|1936–1946
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Brigadier Sir [[Ivan de la Bere]], KCVO, CB, CBE
|1946–1960
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Major General Sir [[Cyril Colquhoun|Cyril Harry Colquhoun]], KCVO, CB, OBE
|1960–1968
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Major General Sir [[Peter Bernard Gillett]], KCVO, CB, CBE
|1968–1979
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Major General Sir [[Desmond Hind Garrett Rice]], KCVO, CBE
|1980–1991
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel [[Malcolm Ross (courtier)|Walter Ross]], GCVO, OBE, GCStJ, DL
|1989–1991
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel [[Anthony Charles McClure Mather]], CBE
|1991–1999
|<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-26946 "Mather, Lt-Col Anthony Charles Mcclure"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Guy Cartwright]]
|1999–2005
|<ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-10355 "Cartwright, Lt-Col. Robert Guy"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel Sir Alexander Fergus Matheson, Bt.
|2005–2014
|<ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-219669 "Matheson of Matheson, Lt Colonel Sir Alexander Fergus"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel James Vernon
|2014–2019
|<ref>[https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Candidate-Pack-Museums-Sector-Member.doc. "The Royal Mint Advisory Committee"] (Cabinet Office). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref><ref>[http://royalchapelsavoy.org/royal-victorian-order/ "Royal Victorian Order"], ''The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy''. Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Segrave
|2019–present
| <ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/june-17-6grl7z75h The Court Circular, 17 June 2019]. Retrieved 17 October 2019.</ref>
|}
== Chaplains ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|The Rev. [[Cyril Leonard Cresswell]], KCVO
|1938–1961
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|The Rev. [[Roger Lewis Roberts]], CVO
|1961–1973
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|The Rev. Cecil Edwin Young
|1973–1983
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|The Rev. [[John Herbert Williams]], LVO
|1983–1989
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|The Rev. [[John Phillips Robson]], LVO
|1989–2002
|<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-32933 "Robson, Rev. John Phillips"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|The Rev. Prebendary [[Bill Scott (priest)|William Sievwright Scott]], CVO
|2002–2007
|<ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-34193 "Scott, Rev. Preb. William Sievwright"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|The Rev. Prof. [[Peter Galloway|Peter John Galloway]], LVO, OBE, KStJ, JP, FSA
|2008–2019
|<ref>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-16691 "Galloway, Rev. Dr Peter John"], ''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/november-27-2019-6n8gm3nbd The Times, 27 November 2019.]</ref>
|-
|The Rev. Thomas Woodhouse
|2019–present
|<ref>[http://royalchapelsavoy.org/who-we-are/chapel-team/ Savoy Chapel team.]</ref>
|}
== Honorary Genealogists ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Dates
!Ref.
|-
|Captain [[Alfred Butler]], MVO, MC
|1938–1946
|<ref name=":0">Galloway, 1996, p. 65.</ref>
|-
|Squadron Leader Sir [[George Bellew]], KCB, KCVO, KStJ
|1946–1960
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Major [[Charles St Clair, 17th Lord Sinclair|The 17th Lord Sinclair]], LVO, DL
|1960–1968
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Sir [[Walter Verco]], KCVO
|1968–1987
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Hubert Chesshyre]], FSA, FHS
|1987–2010
|<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/newsletter/2010/item/27-september-2010 "September 2010 Newsletter"] (College of Arms, Newsletter No. 26, 27 September 2010). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|-
|[[David White (officer of arms)|David White]], OStJ
|2010–present
|<ref>[http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/newsletter/2010/item/28-june-2010 "June 2010 Newsletter"] ([[College of Arms]], Newsletter No. 25, 28 June 2010). Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>
|}
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em}}
=== Bibliography ===
* P. Duckers (2004), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yke6Q1d3gDYC ''British Orders and Decorations''] (Princes Risborough: [[Shire Books|Shire Publications Ltd]], {{ISBN|0-7478-0580-6}})
* P. Galloway, D. Stanley, D. Martin (1996), [https://books.google.com/books?id=LHMYnwEACAAJ ''Royal Service''], volume 1 (London: Victorian Publishing, {{ISBN|0-9528527-0-5}})
* C. McCreery (2008), [https://books.google.com/books?id=UZAIXB15SrsC ''On Her Majesty's Service: Royal Honours and Recognition in Canada''] (Toronto: [[Dundurn Press]]; {{ISBN|1-77070-282-2}})
* W. M. Shaw (1906), [https://archive.org/details/knightsofengland01shawuoft ''The Knights of England''], volume i (London: Sherratt and Hughes; [[OCLC]] [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/185192520 185192520])
{{British honours system}}
{{Royal Victorian Order}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Victorian Order, Knights and Dames Grand Cross appointed by Elizabeth II to the}}
[[Category:British honours system]]
[[Category:Royal Victorian Order]]