Crown Equerry
Encyclopedia
The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the Royal Mews
of the Royal Household
of the Sovereign
of the United Kingdom
. He is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train travel is arranged by the Royal Travel Office, which also co-ordinates air transport.
The position of Crown Equerry should not be confused with that of the Equerry
: although both are nominally under the Master of the Horse, equerries are effectively independent, performing distinct tasks, and are personal assistants to the Sovereign
and senior members of the Royal Family
.
|
Superintendent of
the Royal Mews
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| | | | | | |
| Veterinary Horsebox Driver Stud Groom of Stud Groom of Comptroller Chief Clerk
| Surgeon of Windsor Hampton Court Windsor of Stores |
| | Deputy
| --------------------------------------------- Chief Clerk
| | | | | |
| Storeman Carriage Daily Ladies Daily Ladies Assistant
| Restorers of London of Windsor Chief Clerk
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Head Chauffeur
Head Coachman
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Deputy Head Chauffeur Deputy Head Coachman
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First Chauffeurs -------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | |
Second Chauffeurs Sergeant Rough Senior Carriage Yardmen
Farrier
Rider Liveried Helpers Cleaners
|
Liveried Helpers
Royal Mews
A Royal Mews is a mews of the British Royal Family. In London the Royal Mews has occupied two main sites, formerly at Charing Cross, and since the 1820s at Buckingham Palace....
of the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
of the Sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train travel is arranged by the Royal Travel Office, which also co-ordinates air transport.
The position of Crown Equerry should not be confused with that of the Equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
: although both are nominally under the Master of the Horse, equerries are effectively independent, performing distinct tasks, and are personal assistants to the Sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
and senior members of the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
.
The Royal Mews Department
Crown Equerry|
Superintendent of
the Royal Mews
Royal Mews
A Royal Mews is a mews of the British Royal Family. In London the Royal Mews has occupied two main sites, formerly at Charing Cross, and since the 1820s at Buckingham Palace....
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | |
| Veterinary Horsebox Driver Stud Groom of Stud Groom of Comptroller Chief Clerk
| Surgeon of Windsor Hampton Court Windsor of Stores |
| | Deputy
| --------------------------------------------- Chief Clerk
| | | | | |
| Storeman Carriage Daily Ladies Daily Ladies Assistant
| Restorers of London of Windsor Chief Clerk
|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
Head Chauffeur
Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
Head Coachman
Coachman
A coachman is a man whose business it is to drive a coach, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements...
| |
Deputy Head Chauffeur Deputy Head Coachman
| |
First Chauffeurs -------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | |
Second Chauffeurs Sergeant Rough Senior Carriage Yardmen
Farrier
Farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves...
Rider Liveried Helpers Cleaners
|
Liveried Helpers
List of Crown Equerries
- ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Toby Browne 2010-present - MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Simon Robinson 2005-2010 - MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Felix WheelerFelix WheelerMajor Gerald Felix Wheeler was the Crown Equerry in the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He held this post from 2002 , and retired in 2005....
2002-2005 - Lieutenant-Colonel SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Seymour Gilbart-Denham, KCVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
1987-2002 - Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Stephens, 1987
- Lieutenant-Colonel SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
John Miller, GCVO DSODistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
MCMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
1961-1987 - BrigadierBrigadierBrigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Walter Sale, CVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
1955-1961 - ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Dermot McMorrough KavanaghDermot McMorrough KavanaghColonel Sir Dermot McMorrough Kavanagh GCVO was Crown Equerry of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom from 1941 to 1955...
, GCVO 1941-1955 - ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Arthur ErskineArthur ErskineColonel Sir Arthur Edward Erskine GCVO, DSO , was a British soldier and courtier. He was Crown Equerry in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom from 1924 to 1941.-Background and education:...
, GCVO DSODistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
1924-1941 - CaptainCaptain (British Army and Royal Marines)Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Honourable SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliamCharles Wentworth-FitzWilliam (equerry)Captain Sir William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam GCVO was a British courtier.The fourth son of William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam, he was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1870 he purchased a Cornetcy in the Royal Horse Guards...
1910-1924 - Major-General SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Henry Ewart 1894-1910 - Lieutenant-Colonel SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
George Ashley MaudeGeorge Ashley MaudeColonel Sir George Ashley Maude, KCB, , Crown Equerry of the Royal Mews in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom 1859–1894.Maude was an officer in the Royal Artillery...
, KCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
1859-1894 - MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John GrovesJohn GrovesMajor John Richard Groves was the first Crown Equerry in the Royal Household, being appointed in 1854.He died in office in 1859. Major Groves held the concurrent office of Superintendent of the Royal Mews....
1854-1859
See also
- Gentleman of the HorseGentleman of the HorseGentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of Horse. It occurs from 1693 until abolished in 1782, with a salary of £256.The post was revived in 1828, with a salary of £500...
for a preceding post - Master of the HorseMaster of the HorseThe Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
for equivalents in other countries
General
- Hoey, Brian (1992). All The Queen's Men: Inside The Royal Household. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-246-13851-3.