Saturday 29 December 2012

KCVO for Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire

Charles James Dugdale, The Lord Crathorne was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) for his service as Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

KCVO for Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire

Mr Martin Dunne was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) for his service as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire.

KCVO for Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale

Captain John David Bingham Younger LVO was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) for his service as Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale.

CVO for Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art.

Mr Jonathan Mark Marsden LVO was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for his service as Director of the Royal Collection and Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art.

Two New Companions of Honour

Two new members of the Order of Companions of Honour (CH) have been announced in the New Year’s Honours they are as follows:

Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe KBE for services to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Professor Peter Ware Higgs for services to Physics.

RVM for Member of The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard

Divisional Sergeant Major Peter Saul has been awarded the Royal Victorian Medal for his service as a member of The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard.

MVO for Assistant Treasurer to The Prince of Wales

Mrs Clara Pearce was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for her service as the Assistant Treasurer to the Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

MVO for the Dresser to The Duchess of Cornwall

Mrs Jacqueline Meakin RVM was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for her service as the Dresser to The Duchess of Cornwall.

MVO for House Manager to The Prince of Wales

Mr Leslie Edwin Chappell RVM was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for his service as the House manager and assistant to the Master of the Household to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

LVO for Private Secretary to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

Mr Anthony James Moxon Lowther-Pinkerton MVO MBE was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for his service as the Private Secretary and Equerry to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Henry of Wales.

LVO for Gentleman Usher to The Queen

Air Vice-Marshal Richard Henry Kyle CB MBE was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for his service as the Gentleman Usher to The Queen.

LVO for Communications secretary to The Prince of Wales

Mr Patrick Richard Harverson was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for his service as the Communications secretary to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

LVO for Deputy Private Secretary to The Earl and Countess of Wessex

Mrs Rosemary Hamer was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for her service as the Deputy Private Secretary to The Earl and Countess of Wessex.

LVO for Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales

Mr Clive Alderton was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) for his service as the former Private Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

CVO for Head PA for The Prince of Wales

Mrs Miriam Ray Watts LVO was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for her service as the former Head of Personnel and Administration to the Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

Team GB Hero’s Win Big in New Year honours

Both Olympians and Paralympians have been honoured for their contribution to making London 2012 one of the best games team GB has ever had. The list below outlines the recipients and their honours.

Olympians

Knighthood:

Ben Ainslie CBE
Bradley Wiggins CBE

CBE:

Katherine Grainger MBE
Jessica Ennis MBE
Mo Farah
Victoria Pendleton MBE

OBE:
Charlotte Dujardin
Jason Kenny MBE
Andy Murray
Laura Trott

MBE:
Nicola Adams
Tim Baillie
Laura Bechtolsheimer
Scott Brash
Alistair Brownlee
Steven Burke
Luke Campbell
Peter Charles
Katherine Copeland
Helen Glover
Alex Gregory
Carl Hester
Philip Hindes
Sophie Hosking
Jade Jones
Anthony Joshua
Peter Kennaugh
Dani King
Mary King
Ben Maher
Ed McKeever
Joanna Rowsell
Greg Rutherford
Louis Smith
Heather Stanning
Etienne Stott
Anna Watkins
Peter Wilson

Paralympians

Dame:
Sarah Storey OBE

CBE:
David Weir MBE

OBE:
Sophie Christiansen MBE
Ellie Simmonds MBE

MBE:
Jessica-Jane Applegate
Natasha Baker
Danielle Brown
Mickey Bushell
Hannah Cockroft
Mark Colbourne
Josef Craig
Deborah Criddle
Aled Davies
Neil Fachie
Jonathan Fox
Heather Frederiksen
Oliver Hynd
Helena Lucas
Craig MacLean
Nigel Murray
Jonnie Peacock
Josie Pearson
Pam Relph
Naomi Riches
James Roe
David Smith
Lily van den Broecke
Sophie Wells
Richard Whitehead

New Year’s Honours 2013

The New Year’s honours list has been announced honouring more than a thousand people across the commonwealth realms. Including well known people such as:

Adrian Lester
Andy Murray
Arlene Phillips OBE
Ben Ainslie CBE
Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM
Bradley Wiggins CBE
Cherie Blair
David Weir MBE
David Wootton
Eleanor Simmonds MBE
Ewan McGregor
Greg Rutherford
Iain Robert Lobban CB
Jessica Ennis MBE
Jonathan Evans
Kate Bush
Katherine Grainger MBE
Kenneth Grange CBE
Laura Trott
Louis Smith
Mark Ramprakash
Mohamed Farah
Nicola Adams
Nicola Benedetti
Paul Clive, Baron Deighton
Professor Peter Higgs
Quentin Blake CBE
Sarah Storey OBE
Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe KBE
Sir Alan Peter Budd
Stella McCartney
The Rt Hon Margaret Mary Beckett, MP
Tracey Emin
Victoria Pendleton MBE

Thursday 27 December 2012

Peerage for Archbishop of Canterbury

Her Majesty the Queen granted a peerage for life to the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams Lord Archbishop of Canterbury he will be styled and titled Baron Williams of Oystermouth in the City and County of Swansea.

Sunday 23 December 2012

Queen Appoints New Deputy Press Secretary

Her Majesty the Queen has appointed Mr James Roscoe as her deputy press secretary and head of news. Mr Roscoe currently works for the Foreign office as a diplomat in the United Nations.

Friday 21 December 2012

Happy Holidays

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2013.

New Vice Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

Richard Jewson JP, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk has appointed The Countess of Romney DL Vice Lord Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk.

New Deputy Lieutenants of Midlothian

Patrick Prenter CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of Midlothian.
Mrs Sarah Barron
Mrs Daphne Farquharson

Thursday 20 December 2012

New Lord Lieutenant of Durham

On the 18th of December 2012, Mrs Susan Snowdon was appointed by the Queen to become Lord-Lieutenant of Durham when Sir Paul Nicholson KCVO retires on the 7th of March 2013.

The Queen’s Piper Honoured

Her Majesty the Queen awarded Pipe Major Derek Potter the Royal Victorian Medal in Silver for his service as the Queen’s Piper.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of East Sussex

Peter Field, Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of East Sussex.
Mr Julian R Avery
Mr Geoffrey T Bush
Professor Julian M Crampton
Mr James R May
Colonel Nick Richards
Mrs Chantal Wilson

Monday 17 December 2012

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Isle of Wight

Major General Martin White CB CBE JP, Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Isle of Wight.
Mrs Susie Sheldon
Dr Nicholas John England MA DPhil

Queen Appoints Pages of Honour

Her Majesty the Queen has appointed Viscount Aithrie and Hugo Bertie as her pages of honour in succession to Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe and Andrew Leeming.
Charles Adrian Bristow Hope, Viscount Aithrie is the grandson of Adrian John Charles Hope, 4th Marquess of Linlithgow and is second in line to his grandfather’s title.
Hugo Bertie is the great-great grandson of Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon sister to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother making Hugo the Queen's 1st cousin 3x removed.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Prince FĂ©lix of Luxembourg to Marry

On the 13th December 2012, the court of Luxembourg announced that His Royal Highness Prince FĂ©lix of Luxembourg is engaged to Miss Claire Lademacher. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are delighted by the announcement.

Succession to the Crown Bill Presented to the British Parliament

Today the Succession to the Crown bill was put before the House of Commons by the Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg. The Bill outlines the biggest change to the royal succession since the Act of Settlement in 1701, allowing only the descendants of Sophia of Hanover to inherit the British throne. The first point of the bill changes the succession law from Male-Preference Primogeniture to Equal Primogeniture meaning whoever is eldest will inherit the throne regardless of their gender. The practice of Equal Primogeniture is not uncommon adopted by Sweden in 1980, Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991, Denmark in 2009 and in Luxembourg in 2011.The proposed change regarding gender will be back dated to the 28th of October 2011 when all 16 commonwealth realms agreed to change the laws of succession, this means royals born before the 28th will follow the old rules of succession.

The second point of the bill is concerning the rules about royals marring someone of the Roman Catholic faith. The law currently states that if a person in the royal succession marries a person who is of the Roman Catholic faith at the time of their marriage, they are disqualified from the succession. Under the proposed bill royals who marry Roman Catholics will not lose their place in the line of succession. The bill will also be retrospective to living royals who married Roman Catholics before this bill was presented meaning royals like Prince Michael of Kent, who married his Roman Catholic wife in 1978 will regain his entitlement to a place in line to the throne. However the bill does not repel the law that disqualifies a royal who becomes Roman Catholic from inheriting the throne.

The Third point of the bill regards the sovereign giving consent to a royal marriage under the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The law currently states that no descendant of George II other than the issue of Princesses who married or may marry into “foreign families” shall be capable of contracting matrimony without the previous consent of the sovereign signified under the great seal, declared in council, and entered in the Privy Council books. Every Marriage of any such descendant, without such consent, shall be null and void. Under the Proposed bill, the first six people in line to the throne will need the consent of the Sovereign signified under the great seal, declared in council, and entered in the Privy Council books. The failure to comply will result in that person and their descendants being disqualified from succeeding to the Crown. The current six people in line to the throne are:
1. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
2. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
3. Prince Henry of Wales
4. Prince Andrew, Duke of York
5. Princess Beatrice of York
6. Princess Eugenie of York

The fourth point of the bill is to repel the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

The fifth point of the bill concerns the Royal Marriages Act 1772 all marriages voided under act will be treated as never having been voided.

The proposed bill will make amendments to the Bill of Rights, Act of Settlement 1701, Act of Union with Scotland 1706, Act of Union with England 1707, Act of Union with Ireland 1800 and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800.

If the proposed bill becomes law it will be known as the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.

Similar legislation will need to be passed in the Parliaments of the other 15 commonwealth realms listed below.
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Grenada
Jamaica
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu

This bill, if passed will change the face of the Royal Family forever. By bringing the Monarchy in to the 21st Century we change an institution at the heart of our nation. My personnel opinion is how do you change an institution that has stood for a thousand years? I worry that this bill may break the dam and allow a flood of bills that may change the monarchy into something we won’t recognise and make the monarchy seem unneeded in the 21st Century, leading one day to a British republic. I hope not.

Monday 10 December 2012

New Privy Councillors of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty the Queen approved the following people members of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG
Paul Burstow MP
Andrew Stunell OBE MP
Lord Wallace of Saltaire

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Devon

Eric Dancer CBE JP, Lord-Lieutenant of Devon commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Devon.
Mr Richard Dion Bayly
Mrs Patricia Southby-Tailyour
Wing Commander Brian Wills-Pope MBE MCGI FloD RAFVR(T)
Brigadier Simon Young CBE

Thursday 6 December 2012

Queen Honours Archbishop of Canterbury

Her Majesty the Queen invested The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury with the Royal Victorian Chain for his service as Primate of All England. The Royal Victorian Chain is a personal award from the monarch; there are only 14 living recipients.

Monday 3 December 2012

The Duchess of Cambridge is Pregnant

On the 3rd of December 2012 Clarence House announced Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is Pregnant. The Queen, Prince Philip, The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry have been informed and are delighted with the news. The Duchess is reported to be in the early stages of pregnancy and has been admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London suffering with acute morning sickness. The Duchess is expected to stay in hospital for several days for rest and further tests.