Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Sir Andrew Charles Ford, GCVO (born 5 February 1957) is a retired British Army officer, and current member of the

Royal Households of the United Kingdom The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, ...

. From 6 January 2006 to December 2018, he served as

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

of the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the ...

Military career

Following

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

, Ford was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on a Short Service Commission on 8 April 1977. He was promoted lieutenant on 8 April 1979, and switched to a full commission on 21 August 1978. He was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 8 October 1983,

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 30 September 1989, and lieutenant-colonel on 30 June 1998. He transferred to the Welsh Guards on 27 August 1999, and retired on 4 October 2005 (retaining a reserve commission), he also attended the Joint Service Defence College.

Later life

Ford took office as

of the

on 6 January 2006. The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is presently concerned with matters such as

protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

s, investitures,

garden parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, the

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

, royal weddings and funerals. The Comptroller is the full-time head of department, responsible to the part-time Lord Chamberlain.

Honours and decorations

Ford was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in the 2012 Birthday Honours. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) upon relinquishing his appointment as Comptroller on 11 December 2018. He represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation.

References

1957 births Living people Welsh Guards officers Grenadier Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Members of the British Royal Household {{UK-royal-stub