The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, an ...

of the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train travel is arranged by the Royal Travel Office, which also co-ordinates air transport. The position of Crown Equerry should not be confused with that of the

Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

: although both are nominally under the

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

, equerries are effectively independent, performing distinct tasks, and are personal assistants to the

and senior members of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

The Royal Mews Department

List of Crown Equerries

*Lieutenant General Sir

George Augustus Quentin Lieutenant-General Sir George Augustus Quentin (1760–1851) was a Hanoverian British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Biography George Quentin was born in 1760, and was the eldest son of George Quentin of Göttingen. Quentin ...

1825–1851 *Major John Groves 1854–1859 *Lieutenant Colonel Sir

George Ashley Maude Colonel Sir George Ashley Maude, (11 November 1817 – 31 May 1894) was a British Army officer and Crown Equerry to Queen Victoria. Biography Colonel Sir George Ashley Maude was born in 1817, the son of Rev Hon. John Charles Maude of Ennisk ...

, KCB 1859–1894 *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Henry Ewart 1894–1910 *

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 ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1910–1924 *Colonel Sir

Arthur Erskine Colonel Sir Arthur Edward Erskine (1 September 1881 – 24 July 1963) was a British soldier and courtier. He was Crown Equerry in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom from 1924 to 1941. Background and education A member of ...

GCVO 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 ...

DSO 1924–1941 *Colonel Sir Dermot McMorrough Kavanagh,

1941–1955 *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Walter Sale, CVO OBE 1955–1961 *Lieutenant Colonel Sir

John Mansel Miller Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Mansel Miller, (4 February 1919 – 17 May 2006) was a British Army officer and equestrian who served as Crown Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II from 1961 to 1987. Early life and education Miller was born in Wheatley, ...

DSO MC 1961–1987 *Lieutenant Colonel Charles Stephens, 1987 *

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

Seymour Gilbart-Denham Sir Seymour Vivian Gilbart-Denham, (1939–2018) was a British Army officer and courtier. Born on 10 October 1939, Gilbart-Denham was the son of Major Vivian Maurice Gilbart-Denham and his wife, Diana Mary, daughter of Henry Ralph Beaumont, JP, ...

, KCVO 1987–2002 *Major

Felix Wheeler Major Gerald Felix Wheeler was the Crown Equerry in the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He held this post from 2002 (replacing Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Seymour Gilbart-Denham), and retired in 2005. The Cro ...

2002–2005 *

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 ...

Simon Robinson LVO 2005–2010 *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Toby Browne CVO 2010—

References

General

*Hoey, Brian (1992). ''All The Queen's Men: Inside The Royal Household''. London: HarperCollins. {{ISBN, 0-246-13851-3. Positions within the British Royal Household

The Royal Mews Department

List of Crown Equerries

See also

References

General