Military Wiki
Lieutenant Colonel The Right Honourable
The Lord Adeane
GCB GCVO PC
File:File:Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane.jpg
Adeane in 1953
Private Secretary to the Sovereign

In office
1953–1972
Monarch Elizabeth II
Preceded by Sir Alan Lascelles
Succeeded by Sir Martin Charteris
Assistant Private Secretary to the Sovereign

In office
1945–1953
Monarch George VI
Elizabeth II
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
Nationality British
Spouse(s) Helen Chetwynd-Stapleton
Children 1 daughter, 1 son (Edward Adeane)
Alma mater Magdalene College, Cambridge

Michael Edward Adeane, Baron Adeane, GCB GCVO PC (30 September 1910 – 30 April 1984) was Private Secretary to Elizabeth II between 1953 and 1972, for 19 years.

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, and his maternal grandfather was Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria and King George V. Adeane was educated at Eton College and graduated from Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1934 with a Master of Arts degree.

Career[]

After graduating Adeane travelled to Canada and was aide-de-camp to Lord Bessborough, Governor General of Canada from 1934 to 1935, and then to his successor, Lord Tweedsmuir until 1936.

Adeane then returned to England and became George VI's Assistant Private Secretary from 1945 after five and a half years on active military duty,[1] 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, Adeane was credited with a share of a tiger kill with Sir Christopher Bonham-Carter in a royal tiger hunt.[2] 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.[2]

Personal life[]

On 10 January 1939 Adeane married Helen Chetwynd-Stapleton (c.1920–c.1995), together they had a daughter and a son.[3] Their son Edward Adeane, a barrister, was Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales from 1979–1985.

On 30 April 1984 Adeane died of heart failure in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was cremated at Golders Green crematorium.[3]

Honours[]

Adeane was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1946,[4] a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1947,[5] he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1951,[6] and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1955.[7] In 1962 he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)[8] and in 1968 to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).[9]

In 1959, Adeane received the Grand Decoration in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria[10] and on 20 April 1972, he was created a life peer as Baron Adeane, of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland.[11]

Adeane is portrayed on-screen in the Netflix original series The Crown by actor Will Keen.[12]

References[]

External links[]

Court offices
Preceded by
Henry Hunloke
Page of Honour
1923–1927
Succeeded by
Jock Colville
Preceded by
Alan Lascelles
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
1953–1972
Succeeded by
Martin Charteris
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