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

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

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. George w ...

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 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

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 parishes in England, 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 atte ...

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

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, 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 private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

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

In 1879, Bigge fought in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

and was mentioned 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 her more information about the Prince Imperial's death in the Zulu War, and he escorted the Empress Eugenie on her tour of Zululand to visit the site of her son's death. In 1881, he was appointed equerry-in-ordinary and then served as a groom-in-waiting and assistant private secretary to Queen Victoria./ Arthur John Bigge, 1st and last Baron Stamfordham
Retrieved on 29 January 2018 Bigge was appointed Private Secretary to

in 1895 in succession to Sir Henry Ponsonby 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 in 1910 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Stamfordham, of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland, in 1911. Lord Stamfordham 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 the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and who were murdered by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

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

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

(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 his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

) 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 George VI, King George VI manage his Stuttering, stammer. Early life and family Logue was born on 26 F ...

, 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,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

: 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. He is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial. A daughter, the Honourable Victoria Eugenie, married Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane. She was the mother of Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane, 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, England. 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. Although no longer the principal residence ...

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

Honours

British *KCB : Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) – ''26 November 1901'' *ISO: Imperial Service Order – ''1903''. *KCSI:

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

– ''1906''. *PC :

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

– ''11 June 1910'' *GCIE : Knight Grand Commander – ''1911'' *GCB :

Knight Grand Cross A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

– ''1916''. 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