Michael Edward Adeane, Baron Adeane, (30 September 1910 – 30 April 1984) was

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

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 ...

for 19 years, between 1953 and 1972.

Early life and education

Adeane was the son of Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane (1882–1914), by his wife Hon. Victoria Eugenie Bigge (d.1969). His paternal grandfather was Admiral Edward Stanley Adeane, from a family of landed gentry tracing their ancestry to a Simon Adeane who died in 1686; his maternal grandfather was

Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was a British Army officer and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to George V during mos ...

, 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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and

King 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 his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. Adeane was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and graduated from Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1934 with a Master of Arts degree.

Career

After graduating, Adeane travelled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was aide-de-camp to Lord Bessborough,

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

from 1934 to 1935, and then to his successor, Lord Tweedsmuir, until 1936. Adeane then returned to Britain and became George VI's Assistant Private Secretary from 1945 after five-and-a-half years on active military duty, a post he held until the latter's death in 1952. He continued in that post for Queen Elizabeth until 1953 when he was promoted to Private Secretary and admitted to the Privy Council. In 1961, during a Royal visit to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, Adeane was credited with a share of a tiger kill with Sir Christopher Bonham-Carter in a royal tiger hunt. The tiger-shooting role had fallen to him after the Queen had declined, the Duke of Edinburgh had been unable to shoot due to having his trigger finger in a splint, and the then Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home had missed twice.

Personal life

On 10 January 1939 Adeane married Helen Chetwynd-Stapleton (1916 – 1994), and they had a daughter and a son. Their son, Edward Adeane, a barrister, was

to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

from 1979 to 1984. On 30 April 1984 Adeane died of heart failure in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

Honours

Adeane was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(MVO) in 1946, a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1947, he was promoted to

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 ...

of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1951, and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1955. In 1962 he was promoted to

Knight Grand Cross 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. Grand ...

of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and in 1968 to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). He also received 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 establis ...

. In 1959, Adeane received the Grand Decoration in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria and on 20 April 1972, he was created a life peer as Baron Adeane, of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland.

In popular culture

Adeane is portrayed on-screen in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

original series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'' by actor Will Keen. Following the recast of the series as of season 3, he is played by

David Rintoul David Rintoul (born David Wilson; 29 November 1948) is a Scottish stage and television actor. Rintoul was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ...

References

External links

Lynam, Ruth. "Tiger Hunt and Ring around a Rhino," ''Life,'' March 24, 1961, pp. 50–54.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adeane, Michael Baron Adeane 1910 births 1984 deaths Michael Military personnel from London Adeane, Michael Adeane, Baron Assistant Private Secretaries to the Sovereign British Army personnel of World War II Coldstream Guards officers Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Life peers created by Elizabeth II Adeane, Michael Adeane, Baron People educated at Eton College Private Secretaries to the Sovereign Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Golders Green Crematorium