The Lord Adeane | |
|---|---|
 Adeane in 1953 | |
| Private Secretary to the Sovereign | |
| In office 1 January 1954 – 1 April 1972 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Sir Alan Lascelles |
| Succeeded by | Sir Martin Charteris |
| Assistant Private Secretary to the Sovereign | |
| In office 1945–1953 Serving with Martin Charteris (from 1952) | |
| Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Private Secretary | SirAlan Lascelles |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 20 April 1972 – 30 April 1984 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Edward Adeane (1910-09-30)30 September 1910 London, England |
| Died | 30 April 1984(1984-04-30) (aged 73) Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingEdward Adeane |
| Alma mater | Magdalene College, Cambridge |
Michael Edward Adeane, Baron Adeane,GCB, GCVO, PC (30 September 1910 – 30 April 1984) wasPrivate Secretary toElizabeth II for 19 years, between 1953 and 1972.
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 AdmiralEdward Stanley Adeane, from a family of landed gentry tracing their ancestry to a Simon Adeane who died in 1686;[1] his maternal grandfather wasArthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, Private Secretary toQueen Victoria andKing George V. Adeane was educated atEton College and graduated fromMagdalene College, Cambridge in 1934 with a Master of Arts degree.
After graduating, Adeane travelled toCanada. He wasaide-de-camp toLord Bessborough,Governor General of Canada from 1934 to 1935, and then to his successor,Lord Tweedsmuir, until 1936.
Adeane then returned to Britain and becameGeorge VI's Assistant Private Secretary from 1945 after five-and-a-half years on active military duty,[2] 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 thePrivy Council.[3]
In 1961, during a Royal visit toNepal, Adeane was credited with a share of a tiger kill with SirChristopher Bonham-Carter in a royaltiger hunt.[4] 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 thenForeign SecretaryAlec Douglas-Home had missed twice.[4]
On 10 January 1939 Adeane married Helen Chetwynd-Stapylton (1916 – 1994),[5] and they had a daughter and a son.[6] Their son,Edward Adeane, a barrister, wasPrivate Secretary to thePrince of Wales from 1979 to 1984.
On 30 April 1984 Adeane died ofheart failure inAberdeen, Scotland. He was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium.[6]
Adeane was appointed aMember of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1946,[7] aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1947,[8] he was promoted toKnight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1951,[9] and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1955.[10] In 1962 he was promoted toKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)[11] and in 1968 to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).[12]
In 1959, Adeane received theGrand Decoration in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria[13] and on 20 April 1972, he was created alife peer asBaron Adeane, ofStamfordham in the County of Northumberland.[14]
| Court offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Page of Honour 1923–1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1953–1972 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
