John Johnston (courtier)

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GCVO, MC
Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office
In office
1981–1987
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Eric Penn
Succeeded byGeorge Alston-Roberts-West
Personal details
Born(1922-04-24)24 April 1922
Second World War
Military awardsMilitary Cross

St George's Chapel, Windsor, also in 1986.[2]

Early life and education

Johnston was born in

Roman Catholic, he was educated at Ampleforth College, where he became friends with Basil Hume
.

Military career

In 1941, Johnston joined the 4th Battalion,

demobilisation
. He wrote of his war-time experiences in his Memoirs of a Tank Troop Leader.

In 1949, Johnston married the Honourable Elizabeth Hardinge, the younger daughter of

Welbeck College, where she was visiting her older sister who was married to another officer.[1] She was later a magistrate in Windsor.[2]
Together, they had a son and a daughter. She died in 1995.

Johnston was brigade major of the Household Division from October 1959 to August 1962,[2] and he led the royal procession at Trooping the Colour in 1962, although he quickly had to be taught to ride a horse first.[1] He commanded the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards in Germany, and retired from the British Army as a lieutenant colonel in July 1964. On 7 September 1958, he appeared on the television show What's My Line?.[3]

Courtier

On leaving the army, Johnston joined the Lord Chamberlain's Office as Assistant Comptroller. He was appointed an Extra Equerry to the Queen in 1965. Until 1968, the Lord Chamberlain's duties included the licensing (and censoring) of plays and theatres under the Theatres Act 1843. He described the historic role of the Lord Chamberlain's Office in this area in his 1990 book, The Lord Chamberlain's Blue Pencil.[4] Amongst his other duties, he helped to organise the celebrations of The Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977.[2]

Johnston was promoted to Comptroller in 1981, replacing Lieutenant Colonel

royal arms. On one occasion, when dressed in the uniform of the Grenadier Guards, he stood prominently beside The Queen on Horse Guards Parade, holding her handbag.[1]

Amongst his other interests, Johnston was president of Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

For many years, Johnston occupied a

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1987, the year in which he retired. He was succeeded as Comptroller by Lieutenant Colonel George Alston-Roberts-West, and moved to a house in Windsor Great Park
.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Obituary[dead link], The Daily Telegraph, 13 September 2006
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Obituary, The Times, 14 September 2006
  3. ^ youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwcfsmR9SzM
  4. ISBN 0-340-52529-0
    .
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