Martin Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield

The Right Honourable The Lord Charteris of Amisfield GCB GCVO OBE QSO PC
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
In office 1972–1977
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir Michael Adeane
Succeeded by	Sir Philip Moore
Personal details
Born	7 September 1913
Died	23 December 1999 (aged 86)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Royal Military College, Sandhurst

Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Michael Charles Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield GCB GCVO OBE QSO PC (7 September 1913 – 23 December 1999) was a courtier of Queen Elizabeth II.^[1]

Biography

Charteris was the son of Hugo Francis Charteris, grandson of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and a brother of the 12th Earl of Wemyss. He was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned in the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He fought in the Middle East during the Second World War, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. On his return, he married the Hon. Mary Margesson (a daughter of the 1st Viscount Margesson) on 16 December 1944 in Jerusalem and they had three children.^[2] He retired from the Army in 1951.

In 1950, he was appointed Private Secretary to Princess Elizabeth, who was then Duchess of Edinburgh and heiress presumptive to the British throne. From her accession in 1952 until 1972, he served as her Assistant Private Secretary under Sir Michael Adeane. On Adeane's retirement in 1972, he was promoted to Private Secretary. He held this post until his retirement in 1977 and returned to Eton as its Provost. He was granted the honour of being a Permanent Lord in Waiting.^[3]

Charteris was probably most outspoken in an interview he gave to The Spectator in 1995, in which he described the Duchess of York as "vulgar", the Prince of Wales as "whiney" and the Queen Mother as "a bit of an ostrich".^[4]

Honours

British honours

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 Birthday Honours^[5]
• Member of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1953 Coronation Honours^[6]
• Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1958 Birthday Honours^[7]
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1962 Birthday Honours^[8]
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1972 Birthday Honours^[9]
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1976 New Year Honours^[10]
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 11 August 1977^[11]
• Queen's Service Order in the 1978 New Year Honours^[12]
• Created a Life Peer as Baron Charteris of Amisfield, of Amisfield in the District of East Lothian on 7 February 1978^[13]
• Royal Victorian Chain 7 July 1992^[14]

Foreign honour

•  Malaysia: Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (1972)^[15]
•  Austria: Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1966^[16]

Portrayals

In Netflix's 2016 series The Crown, Charteris was portrayed by Harry Hadden-Paton.

References

1. Daily Telegraph "Her Majesty's A-team"
2. Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 5 April 1991
3. Tomlinson, Richard (20 Dec 1992). "They also serve, who only ush". Independent.
4. Obituary (24 December 1999). "Queen's confidant dies". BBC News.
5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37598. p. 2769. 13 June 1946.
6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39863. p. 2947. 1 June 1953.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41404. p. 3514. 12 June 1958.
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42683. p. 4311. 2 June 1962.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45678. p. 6257. 3 June 1972.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46777. p. 4. 1 January 1976.
11. The London Gazette: no. 47303. p. 10753. 19 August 1977.
12. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47420. p. 42. 31 December 1977.
13. The London Gazette: no. 47459. p. 1685. 9 February 1978.
14. The London Gazette: no. 52987. p. 11675. 10 July 1992.
15. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1972." (PDF).
16. "Reply to a parliamentary question" (pdf) (in German). p. 214. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

External links

• Grice, Elizabeth. "Perfect 10: The Men and Women Who Have Shaped the Queen," The Daily Telegraph online, telegraph.co.uk, 1 June 2012, accessed 1 June 2012.