Private Secretary to the Sovereign

The private secretary to the sovereign is the senior operational member of the

The office of private secretary was first established in 1805. As of 2023[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

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
  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, the Press Office, 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

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

.

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)
	Colonel Sir John McMahon Bt	1811	1817
	Lieutenant-General GCH	1817	1820	Baron Bloomfield
		1820	1822		George IV (1820–1830)
	GCH	1822	1830
	Lieutenant-General GCH	1830	1837		William IV (1830–1837)
	PC (informally, while Prime Minister)	1837	1840		Victoria (1837–1901)
	GCMG (informally)	1840	1861
	Colonel KCB	1861	1866
	General Charles Grey	1861	1870
	Major-General GCB	1870	1895
	Lieutenant-Colonel KCB	1895	1901	Baron Stamfordham
	PC	1901	1910	Viscount Knollys	Edward VII (1901–1910)
		1910	1913		George V (1910–1936)
	Lieutenant-Colonel PC		1931
	Colonel PC	1931	1936
	Major GCVO, MC	1936	1936	Baron Hardinge of Penshurst	Edward VIII (1936)
		1936	1943		George VI (1936–1952)
	Captain CMG, MC	1943	6 February 1952
		6 February 1952	1953		Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
	Lieutenant-Colonel GCVO	1 January 1954	1 April 1972	Baron Adeane
	Lieutenant-Colonel OBE	1 April 1972	12 November 1977	Baron Charteris of Amisfield
	CMG	12 November 1977	1 April 1986	Baron Moore of Wolvercote
	QSO	1 April 1986	19 October 1990
	QSO	19 October 1990	4 February 1999	Baron Fellowes
	Lieutenant GCVO	4 February 1999	8 September 2007	Baron Janvrin
	OBE	8 September 2007	17 October 2017	Baron Geidt
	GCVO	17 October 2017	8 September 2022	Baron Young of Old Windsor
		8 September 2022	15 May 2023		Charles III (2022–present)
	KCVO		Present

Deputy Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1972

Deputy Private Secretary	From	To
CMG	1972	1977
Sir CB	1977	1986
Sir CB	1986	1990
Sir CMG	1990	1996
Sir CB	1996	1999
LVO	February 1999	June 1999
OBE	2005	2007
CVO	2007	2017
John Sorabji	2022	2023
David Hogan-Hern	2022	Present
Matthew Magee, LVO	2022	Present

Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign since 1878

Assistant Private Secretary	From	To
KCB	1878	1895
KCB	1880	1895
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir KCVO	1895	1914
Colonel Sir KCVO	1901	1910
Colonel CSI	1910	1931
The Earl of Cromer	1916	1920
CVO, MC	1920	1936
CBE	1931	1937
Sir CMG	1935	1943
Sir CSI	1936	1936
Major Sir CB	1936	1953
Sir CMG	1937	1945
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir DL	1946	1967
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir OBE	1952	1972
CMG	1966	1972
CVO	1972	1977
LVO	1977	1985
Sir CMG	1985	1990
Robin Janvrin, CVO	1990	1995
Mary Francis	1996	1999
LVO	1999	2002
LVO	1999	2002
LVO	2001	2004
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

Notes

References