William James Robert Peel, 3rd Earl Peel
GCVOThe 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...
, PC,
DLIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(born 3 October 1947), styled Viscount Clanfield until 1969, is a cross-bench (non-party) member of the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and
Lord ChamberlainThe Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
of the
Royal HouseholdA 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....
.
Background and education
Lord Peel is the eldest son of
Arthur Peel, 2nd Earl PeelArthur William Ashton Peel, 2nd Earl Peel , styled Viscount Clanfield from 1929 to 1937, was a British peer....
, and Kathleen McGrath, daughter of Michael McGrath. He is a great-great-grandson of
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Sir Robert Peel. He attended
Ampleforth CollegeAmpleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
, and then went on to the
University of ToursFrançois Rabelais University or University of Tours, is a public university in Tours, France. The university is named after the French writer François Rabelais, and was founded in 1969.-Organisation:...
in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the
Royal Agricultural CollegeThe Royal Agricultural College is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world...
,
CirencesterCirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
.
Career
Lord Peel was a member of the Prince's Council, part of the
Duchy of CornwallThe Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
, from 1993 to 2006, and
Lord Warden of the StannariesThe Lord Warden of the Stannaries used to exercise judicial and military functions in Cornwall, United Kingdom, and is still the official who, upon the commission of the monarch or Duke of Cornwall for the time being, has the function of calling a Stannary Parliament of tinners...
from 1994-2006. He was a member of the
Nature Conservancy CouncilThe Nature Conservancy Council was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 ....
, with
English NatureEnglish Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...
, from 1991 to 1996. He is President of the Game Conservancy Trust and was
President of the Yorkshire Wildlife TrustThe Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the traditional county of Yorkshire, England.The Trust is part of the UK-wide partnership of 47 Wildlife Trusts.It was formed in 1946, as the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust, essentially to preserve its first nature reserve Askham Bog on the...
from 1989 to 1996. Lord Peel was also on the Yorkshire Dales National Park Committee for six years and became a Deputy Lieutenant of
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
in 1998. He is an elected hereditary crossbench member of the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
In June 2006 it was announced that Lord Peel would succeed
Lord LuceRichard Napier Luce, Baron Luce, was Lord Chamberlain to HM The Queen from 2000 to 2006, and was previously Governor of Gibraltar and a Conservative Member of Parliament and Government Minister.-Early career:...
as
Lord ChamberlainThe Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
. On 11 October 2006, he
kissed handsTo kiss hands is a constitutional term used in the United Kingdom to refer to the formal installation of Crown-appointed British government ministers to their office....
with
The QueenElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
upon his appointment and was invested as a
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal 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...
(GCVO), and became Chancellor of the Order. On 14 November 2006, Lord Peel was sworn in as a Member of the Privy Council.
Family
Lord Peel married Veronica Naomi Livingston Timpson (born 21 January 1950), daughter of Major John Alastair Livingston Timpson and his wife (married 25 May 1940), Elizabeth P. Houstoun-Boswall (born 21 May 1915), on 28 March 1973. They had two children, Ashton Robert Gerard Peel, Viscount Clanfield (born 16 September 1976), and Lady Iona Joy Julia Peel (born 18 September 1978). The marriage was dissolved in 1987. He married, secondly,
The Honourable Charlotte Clementine Soames (born 17 July 1954), daughter of
Lord SoamesArthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, GCMG, GCVO, CH, CBE, PC was a British politician belonging to the Conservative Party and the son-in-law of Winston Churchill. A European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia, he had previously been the longtime Member of Parliament...
and his wife,
Mary ChurchillMary Soames, Baroness Soames, is the youngest of Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine's five children and, as of 2011, the sole surviving child...
, daughter of
Sir Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, on 15 April 1989. They have one daughter, Lady Antonia Mary Catherine Peel (born 1991).
Lord Peel's son, Lord Clanfield, married Matilda Rose Aykroyd (born 15 March 1978) in 2004. Matilda is the third daughter and fourth (and youngest) child of second Lieutenant of the
Coldstream GuardsHer Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
David Peter Aykroyd (born 6 June 1937) and his wife Lydia Huldine Beamish (18 January 1939 - 9 July 2004). Lord and Lady Clanfield have three daughters,
The Honourable Isla Rose Huldine Peel (born 24 March 2005),
The Honourable Willa Katherine Peel (born 1 December 2006) and
The Honourable Florence Iona Emily Peel (born 1 January 2011)
Lord Peel's daughter by his first wife, Lady Iona Peel, married Robert Alexander Edward Bowen on 14 May 2005.
External links