Peter St Clair-Erskine, 7th Earl of Rosslyn (), (born 31 March 1958), known professionally as Peter Loughborough, is a Scottish peer and police officer. He is

Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Household of the British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of the Court and he takes precedence over all other officers of the househ ...

of the Royal Household and Personal Secretary to Their Majesties, as well as a former Metropolitan Police

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. The Earl's lands include Rosslyn Chapel.

Background and education

Lord Rosslyn was educated at Ludgrove School,

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. He inherited his titles in 1977, and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on 15 January 1980. Ahead of the passage of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

which excluded most hereditary peers he was elected as one of the 28 peers in the Crossbench group who were to remain in the House of Lords. As of 2022, in 43 years in the

he had only spoken once and voted five times, each in relation to reform of the Lords.

Career

Rosslyn joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1980 on the recommendation of his third cousin Lord Strathnaver, a former detective and heir apparent of the 24th Countess of Sutherland. He reached the rank of chief inspector in the 1990s. In 1994 he led the undercover Operation Troodos, a successful crackdown on drug dealers in west London, including the drug supplier of the Marquess of Blandford, later Duke of Marlborough. From 2003 to 2014, he was head of the

Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department The Protection Command is one of the commands within the Specialist Operations directorate of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The command specialises in protective security and has two branches: Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP), prov ...

(since amalgamated into

Protection Command The Protection Command is one of the commands within the Specialist Operations directorate of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The command specialises in protective security and has two branches: Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP), pr ...

). He received the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in the 2009 New Year Honours and was reputedly the Queen's "favourite policeman". In March 2014, Lord Rosslyn was appointed as Master of the Household to

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and The Duchess of Cornwall at

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the royal Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV. The four-storey house is faced in ...

. On 29 September 2014, Lord Rosslyn was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) upon relinquishing his appointment as Head of Royalty and Specialist Protection Department. On 22 February 2023, he was appointed

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of ...

, succeeding the 17th Earl of Dalhousie, and Personal Secretary to Their Majesties by

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. In this role, he took part in the 2023 Coronation.

Family

He married Helen Watters in 1982 and they have two sons and two daughters, including actress Lady Alice St Clair-Erskine. Lady Rosslyn runs the London Original Print Fair.

Honours

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen EII Platinum Jubilee Medal ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosslyn, Peter Saint Clair-Erskine, 7th Earl of 1958 births Living people Nobility from Midlothian Alumni of the University of Bristol Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Crossbench hereditary peers Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Household of the Prince of Wales Metropolitan Police chief officers People educated at Eton College Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

People educated at Ludgrove School Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999