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. 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.

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 office of private secretary was first established in 1805. As of 2024 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 the 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.

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. The post was first held by Brigadier Jeffrey Cook, OBE MC, who was in office 2004-2008. 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 John McMahon Bt	1811	1817		The Prince Regent, later George IV (1820–1830)
	Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield GCB, GCH	1817	1822	Baron Bloomfield
	Sir William Knighton Bt, GCH	1822	1830
	Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor GCB, GCH	1830	1837		William IV (1830–1837)
	The Viscount Melbourne PC (informally, while Prime Minister)	1837	1840		Victoria (1837–1901)
	Prince Albert KG, KT, KP, GCB, KSI, GCMG (informally)	1840	1861
	Colonel Sir Charles Phipps KCB	1861	1866
	General Charles Grey	1861	1870
	Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby GCB	1870	1895
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge GCVO, KCB	1895	1901	Baron Stamfordham
	The Lord Knollys GCB, GCVO, KCMG, ISO, PC	1901	1910	Viscount Knollys	Edward VII (1901–1910)
		1910	1913		George V (1910–1936)
	Lieutenant-Colonel The Lord Stamfordham GCB, GCIE, GCVO, KCSI, KCMG, ISO, PC		1931
	Colonel The Lord Wigram GCB, GCVO, CSI, PC	1931	1936
	Major Sir Alec Hardinge GCB, GCVO, MC	1936	1936	Baron Hardinge of Penshurst	Edward VIII (1936)
		1936	1943		George VI (1936–1952)
	Captain Sir Alan Lascelles GCB, GCVO, CMG, MC	1943	6 February 1952
		6 February 1952	1953		Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Michael Adeane GCB, GCVO	1 January 1954	1 April 1972	Baron Adeane (for life)
	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Martin Charteris GCB, GCVO, OBE	1 April 1972	12 November 1977	Baron Charteris of Amisfield (for life)
	Sir Philip Moore GCB, GCVO, CMG	12 November 1977	1 April 1986	Baron Moore of Wolvercote (for life)
	Sir William Heseltine GCB, GCVO, AC, QSO	1 April 1986	19 October 1990
	Sir Robert Fellowes GCB, GCVO, QSO	19 October 1990	4 February 1999	Baron Fellowes (for life)
	Lieutenant Sir Robin Janvrin GCB, GCVO	4 February 1999	8 September 2007	Baron Janvrin (for life)
	Sir Christopher Geidt GCB, GCVO, OBE	8 September 2007	17 October 2017	Baron Geidt (for life)
	Sir Edward Young GCB, GCVO	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 KCVO		present

Deputy private secretaries to the sovereign since 1972

Deputy Private Secretary	From	To
Sir Philip Moore, KCVO, CB, CMG	1972	1977
Sir William Heseltine, KCVO, CB	1977	1986
Sir Robert Fellowes, KCVO, CB	1986	1990
Sir Kenneth Scott, KCVO, CMG	1990	1996
Sir Robin Janvrin, KCVO, CB	1996	1999
Mary Francis, CBE, LVO	February 1999	June 1999
Christopher Geidt, CVO, OBE	2005	2007
Edward Young, CVO	2007	2017
John Sorabji	2022	2023
David Hogan-Hern	2022	present
Matthew Magee, LVO	2022	2024

Assistant private secretaries to the sovereign since 1878

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

See also

• Canadian Secretary to the King
• Private secretary