Edward Young, Baron Young of Old Windsor, (born 24 October 1966) is a British courtier who served as Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 2017 to 2023. In this role, he was the senior operational 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, ...

. Young was recruited to the Royal Household in 2004, serving as

Queen 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 h ...

's assistant and then as deputy private secretary until his promotion to private secretary in 2017. After the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, Young served as joint principal private secretary to

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

until he stepped down in May 2023.

Early life and career

Young was born on 24 October 1966 to Edward Young and Sally Rougier Young. He was educated at

Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

in Berkshire, where he was a boarder. Young worked for the international side of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

between 1985 and 1997, where he held a range of executive roles including as a specialist in international trade finance and as manager for the Corporate Bank European Currency Programme. In 1997, he moved to Barclays' Head Office to become the bank's Deputy Head of Corporate Public Relations. From late 1999 to 2001, he was an advisor to

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...

, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

shadow chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...

, and then to the party's

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. In 2001, Young was appointed Head of Communications at

Granada plc Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd, Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television. The company merged with Carlton Communica ...

, working primarily on the merger with

Carlton Communications Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gained ap ...

to form

ITV PLC ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on the ...

in 2004.

Royal Household

Assistant and Deputy Private Secretary (2004–2017)

Young became an assistant private secretary to

in September 2004.Elston, Laura. "Queen Appoints New Aide". PA Regional Newswire. 24 July 2007. He was promoted to Deputy Private Secretary in September 2007 after the promotion of

Christopher Geidt Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

from Deputy Private Secretary to Private Secretary, on the retirement of Sir Robin Janvrin, Private Secretary from 1997 to 2007. As Deputy Private Secretary he played a key role in the planning of the Queen's visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011. He is credited with assisting the Queen in writing the highly praised speech, which she began with a few words in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. The Queen's visit was hailed as a diplomatic triumph that improved Anglo-Irish relations. Young led the national planning of the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

, which took place in 2012. He persuaded Elizabeth to take part in the ''James Bond'' helicopter sketch in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Private Secretary (2017–2023)

Young became Private Secretary in 2017, on Geidt's retirement. As Private Secretary, Young also served as

Keeper of the Royal Archives The Keeper of the Royal Archives is responsible for the papers held in the Royal Archives, and is accountable to The King. Since 1945, the office of Keeper of the Royal Archives in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom ...

and a Trustee of the

Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

. As head of the Private Secretary's Office, Young had direct control over the

Press Office Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

, the office of the

Director for Security Liaison An office created in the Private Secretary's Office of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom in 2004. The first office-holder was Brigadier Jeffrey Cook, a former Special Air Service (SAS) officer. He served until 2008. As ...

, the research, correspondence, anniversaries and records offices, and the

Royal Archives The Royal Archives, also known as the King's Archives, is a division of The Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is operationally under the control of the Keeper of the Royal Archives, who is customarily the Private Secre ...

. As Private Secretary, Young was a member of the so-called 'golden triangle' of senior British officials – the others being the Cabinet Secretary and the

Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is ...

– with key responsibilities in the event of a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...

in the United Kingdom. On 11 March 2021, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reported that royal historian

Robert Lacey Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of best-selling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford, Queen Elizabeth II and other royals, as well as several other work ...

stated that Young had a share of the responsibility for the so-called

Megxit On 8 January 2020, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, announced on Instagram their decision to "step back as 'senior' members" of the British royal family, split their time between the United Kingdom and North America, ...

royal crisis after the ''

Oprah with Meghan and Harry ''Oprah with Meghan and Harry'' is a 2021 television special hosted by American media personality Oprah Winfrey, that featured an interview between Winfrey, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The special premiered March ...

'' U.S.

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

television interview. Lacey charged that Young "should have sat down with

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

and explained precisely" her "relatively minor ranking" after her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018. Young took part in the royal procession at the 2023 coronation.

Retirement

On 15 May 2023, Buckingham Palace announced that Young was retiring after 19 years of service to the Royal Family. Following his retirement as private secretary to the sovereign, Young was granted a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, made a permanent

lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

, and appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the 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 ...

and a

Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

. On 13 June 2023, Young was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as ''Baron Young of Old Windsor, of

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old ...

in the

Royal County of Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

'', and was introduced to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

on 15 June. He sits as a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

er and made his maiden speech on 15 November 2023.

Honours and awards

Young 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 the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

, and was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

(CVO) in the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, and

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 ...

(KCVO) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

. Upon his leaving office as Private Secretary to the Sovereign, King Charles III appointed Young a

(GCB) and a

(GCVO). Young was also granted a peerage and made a permanent

. On 11 October 2017, Young 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 ...

References

External links

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at UK Parliament {{DEFAULTSORT:Young of Old Windsor, Edward Young, Baron 1966 births Living people People educated at Reading School Private Secretaries to the Sovereign Deputy Private Secretaries to the Sovereign Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign Crossbench life peers Life peers created by Charles III Permanent Lords-in-Waiting Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom