Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle
The Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle is in charge of Windsor Castle in England on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Royal Household.
The Constable receives no salary, but has a residence in the Castle. From 1833-1957, the office was mostly filled by a member of the Royal Family, but now it is held by a senior retired officer of the armed forces of the Crown. He is the representative of the Lord Chamberlain within the Castle. The Constable also has nominal charge of its garrison, including the Windsor Castle Guard of the Foot Guards of the Household Division, as well as of the Military Knights of Windsor. The posts of Constable and Governor have been joined since 1660. A special uniform is prescribed for the Constable and Governor (similar to the full dress uniform of a General officer, but with scarlet collar and cuffs on a blue tunic rather than vice versa);[1] alternatively (and more often than not) service uniform may be worn.
There was a Deputy Constable and Lieutenant-Governor from 1833 to 1989. From 1964, he was also Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor until the office was abolished in 1989. At one time there was also a separate Constable of the Round Tower. From 1928 to 1935 this was held jointly with the post of Deputy Constable.
The following is a list, as complete as can be compiled from sources at present available, of the castellans, keepers and constables of Windsor Castle:
List of Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle
Name | From | To | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Walter FitzOther | 1086 | 1100 | |
William FitzWalter de Windsor (son) | 1100 | c.1153 | |
Richard de Luci | 1153 | 1179 | |
Hugh de Puiset | 1190 | 1190 | Earl of Northumberland and Bishop of Durham |
William de Longchamp | 1191 (seized office) | 1191 | Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England |
William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel | 1191 | 1191 | |
William de Longchamp | 1191 (again seized office) | 1191 | Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England |
Hubert Walter | 1191 | 1193 | Bishop of Salisbury then Archbishop of Canterbury |
Hubert de Burgh | 1200 | 1200 | |
John FitzHugh | 1201 | 1204 | |
Robert de Vipont | 1204 | 1205 | |
John FitzHugh | 1205 | 1216 | |
Engelard de Cigogné | 1216 | 1223 | |
Stephen Langton | 1223 | 1224 | Archbishop of Canterbury |
William de Rughedon | 1224 | 1224 | |
Osbert Giffard | 1224 | 1224 | |
Ralph Tirel | 1224 | 1225 | |
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent | 1226 | 1233 | |
William de Millers | 1228 | ||
Waleran Tyes | 1231 | ||
Alan de Crepping | 1231 | ||
Stephen de Segrave | 1232 | ||
Henry de Passelewe | 1233 | ||
Engelard de Cigogné | 1234 | ||
Bernard of Savoy | 1242 | ||
Pierre de Genève | 1248 | ||
Maud de Lacy | 1249 | widow of Peter of Geneva | |
Aymon Thurumbert | 1257 | 1261 | |
John de Sancta Elena | 1261 | 1263 | |
Sir Giles de Argentine | 1263 | ||
Drew de Barentyne | 1264 | ||
Geoffrey de Langley | 1264 | ||
John FitzJohn | 1264 | ||
John of London | 1266 | ||
Ebulo de Montibus | 1266 | ||
Nicholas de Yattendon | 1269 | ||
Hugh de Dyne | 1269 | ||
Geoffrey de Pickford | 1272 | ||
John of London | 1298 | ||
Roger le Sauvage | 1305 | 1308 | |
Robert de Haustede | 1308 | ||
Warin de Lisle | 1309 | 1319 | |
Oliver de Bordeaux | 1319 | ||
Ralph de Camoys, 3rd Baron Camoys | 1319 | 1326 | |
Thomas de Huntercombe | 1326 | 1327 | Also known as de Hodeng of Eton and Burnham |
John de Lisle | 1327 | ||
Thomas Foxley | 1328 | 1360 | Also known as de Foxle; of Foxley Manor at Bray and Bramshill Castle |
Richard de la Vache | 1360 | ||
Thomas Cheney | 1365 | ||
Helming Legatte | 1369 | ||
Sir Simon de Burley | 1377 | ||
Thomas Tyle | 1389 | ||
Sir Peter Courtenay | 1390 | ||
Sir Hugh Waterton | 1405 | ||
Sir John Stanley | 1408 | 1413 | |
John Wintershull | 1413 | deputy constable | |
John Waterton | 1414 | 1417 | Master of the Horse |
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset | 1438 | 1455 | |
Admiral William Nevill jointly with John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners | 1455 | Neville: Baron Fauconberg and Earl of Kent | |
John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners jointly with his son Sir Humphrey Bourchier | 1466 | 1471 | |
John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners | 1471 | 1474 | |
Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford | 1474 | 1477 | |
Sir John Elrington | 1483 | 1484 | |
Thomas Windsor of Stanwell | 1484 | 1485 | |
Sir Thomas Bourchier | 1485 | ||
Sir Thomas Bourchier jointly with Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney | 1495 | ||
Sir Thomas Bourchier jointly with Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex | 1511 | ||
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter | 1525 | 1539 | |
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester | 1559 | KG | |
Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham | 1590 | later 1st Earl of Nottingham | |
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham | 1624 | 1628 | |
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland | 1628 | 1648 | |
Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke and 2nd Earl of Montgomery | 1648 | ||
Colonel John Venn | 1648 | 1653 | |
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke | 1653 | 1657 | |
Colonel Sir John Lenthall | 1657 | 1660 | |
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt | 1660 | 1668 | |
Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 1668 | 1682 | |
Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk | 1682 | 1701 | |
George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland | 1701 | 1716 | |
Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham | 1716 | 1723 | |
Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle | 1723 | 1730 | |
Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans | 1730 | 1751 | |
George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu | 1752 | 1790 | |
James Brudenell, 5th Earl of Cardigan | 1791 | 1811 | |
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington | 1812 | 1829 | |
Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham | 1829 | 1832 | |
Major General George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster | 1833 | 1842 | Son of King William IV |
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex | 1842 | 1843 | Son of King George III, uncle of then Queen Victoria |
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 1843 | 1861 | The Prince Consort |
Vice Admiral Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg | 1867 | 1891 | |
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll | 1892 | 1914 | |
Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge | 1914 | 1927 | |
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher | 1928 | 1930 | |
Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone | 4 Aug 1931 | 1957 | Gazette Entry
Brother-in-law of George V |
vacant | 1957 | 18 Jun 1964 | Gazette Entry |
Field Marshal William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim | 18 Jun 1964 | 1970 | Gazette Entry |
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy | 1971 | 11 Aug 1978 | Gazette Entry |
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy | 11 Aug 1978 | 9 Feb 1988 | Gazette EntryGazette Entry |
Admiral Sir David Hallifax | 9 Feb 1988 | 1992 | Gazette Entry |
General Sir Patrick Palmer | 1992 | 2000 | |
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns | 2000 | 2008 | |
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Ian L. Jenkins | 1 Feb 2008 | 19 Feb 2009 | Died in post |
Air Marshal Sir Ian Macfadyen | 10 Aug 2009 | 2014 | Court & Social |
Admiral Sir James Perowne | 2014 | 2022 | |
Lieutenant General Philip Jones | 2022 |
List of Deputy Constables and Lieutenant-Governors of Windsor Castle
Please note this list is incomplete.
Name | From | To | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Major General George Scott | c.1782 | Deputy Governor | |
Major-General Sir John Clayton Cowell | 1866 | 1894 | [2] |
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher | 23 Jul 1901 | 19 Jan 1928 | [3] |
Major Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby | 9 Jan 1928 | 20 October 1935 | [4] |
Colonel Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram | 20 July 1936 | 6 April 1945 | [5] |
Brigadier General Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie | 6 Apr 1945 | 1 Mar 1953 | [6] |
Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg | 1 Mar 1953 | 4 Jul 1963 | [7] |
Field Marshal William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim | 5 Jul 1963 | 4 Sep 1964 | [8] |
Major General Sir Edmund Hakewill-Smith | 4 Sep 1964 | 31 Dec 1972 | [9][10] |
Major General Sir Peter Gillett | 1978 | 1989 |
References
- ^ "Army Dress Regulations part 12" (PDF). What do they know?. Ministry of Defence. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ "Sir John Cowell". Obituaries. The Times. No. 34356. London. 30 August 1894. col E, p. 8.
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.27336, 23 July 1901
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.33346, 10 January 1928
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.34306, 20 July 1936
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.37019, 6 April 1945
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.39731, 3 March 1953
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.43098, 3 September 1963
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.39791, 4 September 1964
- ^ London Gazette, issue no.45868, 2 January 1973