Sir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones (12 March 1940 – 21 August 2010) was a long-serving Officer of Arms at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in London. He was

Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.

Life and career

Gwynn-Jones was born in 1940, the son of Major Jack Gwynn-Jones, of

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. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

, and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, where he obtained an MA. In 1970 he joined the

and became assistant to Sir Anthony Richard Wagner, who was the Garter Principal King of Arms. In 1973 Gwynn-Jones was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary. In 1982 he was promoted to herald, and served until 1995 as

Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an England, English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Duchy of ...

and became House Comptroller of the

. In 1995 he was appointed

,. He retired in 2010. He died later that year on 21 August.

Appointments and honours

Gwynn-Jones was Secretary of the Harleian Society from 1981 until 1994, Inspector of Regimental Colours from 2 October 1995, and Inspector of

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Badges from 1996. He was also appointed in 1995 Genealogist to the Order of the Bath, Genealogist of the Order of St Michael and St George, and Genealogist of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. He was non-executive Vice-President of The Heraldry Society from 1996. Gwynn-Jones was appointed

Lieutenant 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, o ...

(LVO) in 1994, promoted

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, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO) in 1998, and appointed

Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(KStJ) in 1995. In anticipation of his retirement The Queen promoted Gwynn-Jones

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

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...

''The Coati Sable''

Gwynn-Jones's autobiography, ''The Coati Sable: The Story of a Herald'', was published by The Memoir Club in 2010, coinciding with his retirement as Garter The title is a reference to the coati (a type of American raccoon) that featured on Gwynn-Jones's own coat of arms and served as a punning allusion to Coity, Glamorganshire.

Arms

Bibliography

*Gwynn-Jones, P. Ll. (1998) ''The Art of Heraldry : origins, symbols, designs'', London : Parkgate, *Gwynn-Jones, P. Ll. (2010) ''The Coati Sable: The story of a Herald'', Durham : The Memoir Club,

References

External links

The College of ArmsObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn-Jones, Peter Llewellyn 1940 births 2010 deaths English officers of arms People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of Justice of the Order of St John English genealogists English male non-fiction writers Garter Principal Kings of Arms