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 colonel. ...

Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and courtier. He was Private Secretary to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

during the last few years of her reign, and to

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

during most of his reign. He was the maternal grandfather of Lord Adeane, Private Secretary to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

from 1953 to 1972.

Early life

Bigge was the son of John Frederick Bigge (1814–1885), Vicar of

Stamfordham, Northumberland Stamfordham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 1,047, rising to 1,185 at the 2011 Census. The place-name ''Stamfordham'' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for ...

, and the grandson of Charles William Bigge (1773–1849) of Benton House (

Little Benton Little Benton is a small suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, which holds two modern housing estates (Church Green and Haydon Grange) along with the site of Newcastle United's academy base. The closest amenities can be found at Four Lane Ends, one mil ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Northumberland) and Linden Hall (Longhorsley, Northumberland), High Sheriff of Northumberland and a prominent merchant and banker in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

and the Royal Military Academy and was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1869.

Career

Between 1878 and 1879, Bigge fought in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

, as is known from his mentions in despatches. In 1880, he was summoned to

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

by Queen Victoria to give an explanation on the Prince Imperial's death in the Zulu War. Before he was appointed as a Private Secretary, he had served as a groom-in-waiting and assistant private secretary to Queen Victoria. In 1881, he was appointed equerry-in-ordinary./ Arthur John Bigge, 1st and last Baron Stamfordham
Retrieved on 29 January 2018 Bigge was appointed Private Secretary to

in 1895 and served until her death in January 1901. A couple of months later, he was appointed Private Secretary to her grandson, the Duke of Cornwall and York, who was made Prince of Wales later that year. He continued to serve as such on the Prince's accession to the throne as King George V in 1910 and serving until his own death in 1931. As Private Secretary to the sovereign he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1910 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Stamfordham, of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland, in 1911. Bigge seemed to have an influence over King George and was one of those who supported the King's decision to adopt ''Windsor'' as the family name because of the keen anti-German feelings during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On 17 July 1917, King George V "issued a proclamation declaring, "The Name of Windsor is to be borne by His Royal House and Family and Relinquishing the Use of All German Titles and Dignities". He persuaded the King to deny asylum to Tsar Nicholas II and his family, who were thus forced to remain in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and who were murdered by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. He interpreted the King's response "Bugger Bognor" as assent to the renaming of

Bognor Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

as Bognor Regis. He introduced the Duke of York (later King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

) to

Lionel Logue Lionel George Logue, (26 February 1880 – 12 April 1953) was an Australian speech and language therapist and amateur stage actor who helped King George VI manage his stammer. Early life and family Lionel George Logue was born in College To ...

, who became the Duke's speech therapist.

Family

Bigge married in 1881 Constance Neville (d. 1922), daughter of Rev. William Frederick Neville, Vicar of

Butleigh Butleigh is a small village and civil parish, located in Somerset. The nearest village to it is Barton St David, and it is located a short distance from Glastonbury and Street. Its population is 823. Butleigh has a church, small village shop, a ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

: they had a son and two daughters. Their son, Captain The Hon. John Neville Bigge (b. 1887), was killed in action near Festubert on 15 May 1915 whilst serving with the 1st Bn.

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

. He is commemorated on

Le Touret Memorial The Le Touret Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the former commune of Richebourg-l'Avoué, in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The memorial lists 13,389 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were kill ...

. A daughter, the Honourable Victoria Eugenie, married Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane. She was the mother of

Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane Michael Edward Adeane, Baron Adeane, (30 September 1910 – 30 April 1984) was Private Secretary to Elizabeth II for 19 years, between 1953 and 1972. Early life and education Adeane was the son of Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane (1882– ...

, Private Secretary to Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1972. Lord Stamfordham died, still in office, at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

on 31 March 1931, aged 81, when the barony became extinct.

Honours

British *KCB :

Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath The 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 medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(KCB) – ''1895'' *GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) – ''2 February 1901'' – on the day of the funeral of Queen Victoria *KCMG:

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) – ''26 November 1901'' *ISO:

Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

– ''1903''. *KCSI:

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

– ''1906''. *PC : Privy Counsellor – ''11 June 1910'' *GCIE :

Knight Grand Commander Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gra ...

– ''1911'' *GCB : Knight Grand Cross – ''1916''. * He received the George V Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establish ...

with 30 year service bar. Foreign * : Order of the White Lion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamfordham, Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron 1849 births 1931 deaths People from Morpeth, Northumberland Military personnel from Northumberland Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War Companions of the Imperial Service Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Rossall School Private Secretaries to the Sovereign Barons created by George V People from Stamfordham