Page of Honour

UK Royal Household ceremonial position
Pages of Honour on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the 2023 coronation ceremony

A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only physical activity involved is usually carrying the long train of the Sovereign's robes. This position is distinct from that of a page in the Royal Household, which is the senior rank of uniformed staff.

Pages of Honour participate in major ceremonies involving the British monarch, including coronations and the State Opening of Parliament. It is usually a distinction granted to teenage sons of members of the nobility and gentry, and especially of senior members of the Royal Household.

Livery

Pages of Honour in England wear a scarlet frock coat with gold trimmings, a white satin waistcoat, white breeches and hose, white gloves, black buckled shoes and a lace cravat and ruffles. A sword is also worn with the outfit and a feathered three-cornered hat is provided.[1] In Scotland the outfit is identical, but in green rather than scarlet (as seen periodically at the Thistle Service in Edinburgh).[2] In Ireland, when Pages of Honour were attendant upon the King, Pages of Honour wore exactly the same uniform as at the English Court, except that the colour was St. Patrick's blue with silver lace.[1]

At coronations, the peers who carry regalia in the procession (and others with particular roles in the service) were expected to have their own pages in attendance. These pages are directed to wear "the same pattern of clothes as the Pages of Honour wear, but of the Livery colour of the Lords they attend... [except that] ...the Royal liveries being scarlet and gold, the use of this combination of colours is restricted to the Pages of Honour, and in the case of a Peer whose colours are scarlet and gold, for scarlet some variant, such as murrey or claret, should be used."[3]

Pages of Honour by monarch

Charles II

  • 1661–1662: Bevil Skelton
  • 1661–1669: John Napier
  • 1662–1668: Sidney Godolphin
  • 1664–1665: Rupert Dillon
  • 1665–1671?: Thomas Felton
  • 1668–1678: John Berkeley
  • 1668–1676: William Legge
  • 1670: Charles Wyndham
  • 1671–1685: Robert Killigrew
  • 1671–1685: Aubrey Porter
  • 1673–1678: John Prideaux
  • 1674–1678: Henry Wroth
  • 1678–1685: Thomas Pulteney
  • 1680–1685: Sutton Oglethorpe
  • 1681–1685: Charles Skelton

James II

William III

First Page of Honour

  • 1689–1692?: Nicholas Needham
  • 1692–1697: Carew Rawleigh
  • 1697–1702: Robert Rich

Second Page of Honour

  • 1689–1690: Arnold van Keppel
  • 1690–1693?: Ernest Henry Ittersum
  • 1695–1702: Thomas Harrison

Third Page of Honour

  • 1689–1693?: Charles Dormer
  • 1697–1702: William Colt

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1690–1693: Matthew Harvey
  • 1693–1697: George Feilding
  • 1697–1702: Allan Wentworth

John Brockhuisen appears in the post-mortem accounts of the Board of Green Cloth as a page of honour to William III, but this may be an error, as he appears elsewhere as a pensioner after serving as Queen Mary's page of honour.

Anne

First Page of Honour

  • 1702–1707: Hon. John Egerton
  • 1707–1714: Hon. Richard Arundell

Second Page of Honour

  • 1702–1709: Robert Blount
  • 1709–1714: John Mordaunt

Third Page of Honour

  • 1702–1708: John Gough
  • 1708–1712: Charles Hedges
  • 1712–1714: Thomas Murray

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1702–1710: Hon. Henry Berkeley
  • 1710–1714: John Hampden

George I

First Page of Honour

  • 1714–1727: Guildford Killigrew

Second Page of Honour

  • 1714–1718: John Mordaunt
  • 1718–1721: Emanuel Howe
  • 1721–1727: Archibald Carmichael

Third Page of Honour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1714–1724: Thomas Bludworth
  • 1724–1727: Walter Villiers
  • 1727: Henry Newton

George II

First Page of Honour

  • 1727–1734: John FitzWilliam
  • 1734–1739: Philip Roberts
  • 1739–1745: Charles Chamberlayne
  • 1745–1748: William Tryon
  • 1748–1753: John Jenkinson
  • 1753–1760: Hon. John Byng

Second Page of Honour

Third Page of Honour

  • 1727–1731: Sir William Irby, Bt
  • 1731–1737: Hon. John Boscawen
  • 1737–1740: Charles Lee
  • 1740–1746: Sandys Mill
  • 1746–1747: Hon. George Bennet
  • 1747–1752: Thomas Brudenell
  • 1752–1757: William Middleton
  • 1757–1760: Henry Wallop

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1727–1731: Archibald Carmichael
  • 1731–1737: Thomas Style
  • 1737–1741: Hon. Charles Roper
  • 1741–1746: Hon. William Keppel
  • 1746–1748: Charles Knollis
  • 1748–1753: Harvey Smith
  • 1753–1759: James Bathurst
  • 1759–1760: John Wrottesley

George III

First Page of Honour

  • 1760–1762: James Hamilton
  • 1762–1769: Henry Monckton
  • 1769–1777: Henry Greville
  • 1777–1784: Henry Durell
  • 1784–1793: John Neville
  • 1793–1795: Henry Wilson
  • 1795–1803: Charles Wilson
  • 1803–1812: Charles Greville
  • 1812–1815: Frederick Turner
  • 1816–1818: John Bloomfield
  • 1818–1820: Arthur Richard Wellesley


Second Page of Honour

  • 1760–1764: Henry Vernon
  • 1764–1772: Thomas Thoroton
  • 1772–1777: Richard Barrington
  • 1777–1782: Henry Hall
  • 1782–1794: Charles West[4][5][6]
  • 1794–1802: George Dashwood
  • 1802–1803: Hon. Fitzroy Stanhope
  • 1803–1808: vacant
  • 1808–1809: Henry Buckley
  • 1809–1815: Philip Stanhope
  • 1816–1820: Hon. William Graves


Third Page of Honour


Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1760–1768: Doddington Egerton
  • 1768–1776: Francis Chaplin
  • 1776–1781: William Paul de Cerjat
  • 1781–1786: Kenneth Howard
  • 1786–1791: James Cockburn
  • 1791–1794: Edward Draper
  • 1794–1800: Charles Parker
  • 1800–1804: William Wynyard
  • 1804–1810: Richard Cumberland
  • 1810–1816: Henry Murray
  • 1816–1819: Frederick Culling–Smith
  • 1819–1820: Arthur Torrens


Fifth Page of Honour

  • 1760–1761: John Wrottesley
  • 1773–1781: George Bristow
  • 1781–1782: John Murray

George IV

First Page of Honour

  • 1820–1821: Arthur Richard Wellesley
  • 1821–1826: Lord Frederick Paulet
  • 1826–1828: William Hervey-Bathurst
  • 1828–1830: Henry d'Aguilar

Second Page of Honour

Third Page of Honour

  • 1820–1824: Charles Bagot
  • 1824–1830: Arthur William FitzRoy Somerset

Fourth Page of Honour

William IV

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

Third Page of Honour

  • 1830–1832: Arthur Somerset
  • 1832–1837: Lord Hay

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1830: Joseph Hudson
  • 1830–1837: Hon. Adolphus Graves
  • 1837: James Cowell

Victoria

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

  • 1837–1840: George Cavendish
  • 1840–1847: Henry Byng
  • 1847–1853: Alfred Crofton
  • 1853–1861: Charles Phipps
  • 1861–1867: Arthur Paget
  • 1867–1874: George Grey
  • 1874–1877: Laurence Drummond[8]
  • 1877–1882: Albert Wellesley[8]
  • 1882–1887: Arthur Ponsonby
  • 1887–1892: Victor Wellesley
  • 1892–1895: Albert Clarke
  • 1895–1899: Hon. John Henniker–Major
  • 1899–1901: The Viscount Torrington[9]

Third Page of Honour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1837–1840: James Cowell
  • 1840–1845: Herbert Wilson
  • 1845–1852: William Forbes
  • 1852–1859: George Macpherson
  • 1859–1866: Henry Loftus
  • 1866–1870: Hon. Frederick Stopford
  • 1870–1876: Arthur Hardinge
  • 1876–1877: George Macdonald
  • 1877–1881: Hon. Francis Hay
  • 1881–1883: George Byng
  • 1883–1886: Hon. Edward FitzRoy
  • 1886–1890: Cyril Stopford
  • 1890–1895: Geoffrey Stewart
  • 1895–1897: Alexander Wood
  • 1897–1901: Harold Festing

Edward VII

Pages of Honour carrying the train of Queen Alexandra during her anointing at the 1902 coronation of Edward VII, depicted in a painting by Laurits Tuxen.

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

  • 1901–1903: The Viscount Torrington
  • 1903–1908: Donald Davidson
  • 1908–1910: Anthony Lowther

Third Page of Honour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1901–1902: Harold Festing
  • 1902–1906: Nigel Legge[11][a]
  • 1906–1908: Edward Hardinge
  • 1908–1910: Walter Campbell

George V

George V and Queen Mary are attended by Pages of Honour in 1911 as they leave St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

Third Page of Honour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1910–1913: Walter Campbell
  • 1913–1915: Assheton Curzon-Howe
  • 1915–1917: Francis Stonor
  • 1917–1921: Guy Dugdale
  • 1921–1924: George Gordon-Lennox
  • 1924–1930: Harry Legge-Bourke
  • 1930–1933: Douglas Gordon
  • 1933–1936: George Hardinge

Edward VIII

First Page of Honour

  • 1936: Patrick Crichton

Second Page of Honour

Third Page of Honour

  • 1936: George Seymour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1936: George Hardinge

George VI

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

  • 1936–1940: The Lord Herschell
  • 1940–1947: None due to the Second World War
  • 1947–1951: James Ogilvy[15]
  • 1951–1952: Jonathan Peel[16]

Third Page of Honour

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1936–1938: George Hardinge
  • 1938–1939: David Stuart
  • 1939–1946: None due to the Second World War
  • 1946–1950: George Paynter[17]
  • 1950–1952: Michael Anson[19]

Elizabeth II

Pages of Honour to Elizabeth II in the procession to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, during the annual service of the Order of the Garter, 2006.

First Page of Honour

Second Page of Honour

  • 1952–1954: Jonathan Peel[20]
  • 1954–1956: Edward Adeane[38]
  • 1956–1957: Duncan Davidson
  • 1957–1958: Andrew Gordon
  • 1960–1962: David Hughes-Wake-Walker
  • 1962–1963: Viscount Ipswich
  • 1963–1964: Heneage Legge-Bourke[f]
  • 1964–1966: Christopher Tennant
  • 1966–1968: Hon. Harry Fane
  • 1968–1969: John Maudslay
  • 1969–1971: Hon. David Hicks-Beach
  • 1971–1973: Simon Rhodes
  • 1973–1974: David Bland
  • 1974–1976: Earl of Rocksavage
  • 1976–1979: Charles Loyd
  • 1979–1981: Viscount Carlow[29]
  • 1981–1983: Marquess of Lorne
  • 1983–1984: Hon. Hugh Crossley
  • 1984–1988: Malcolm Maclean
  • 1988–1991: Hon. Charles Tryon
  • 1991–1995: James Bowes-Lyon[g]
  • 1995–1997: Hon. William Vestey[39][h]
  • 1997–2000: Lord Dunglass[i]
  • 2000–2004: Hon. John Bowes-Lyon[j]
  • 2004–2008: Viscount Garnock
  • 2008–2012: Lord Stanley
  • 2012–2015: Viscount Aithrie[40]
  • 2015–2019: Hon. Augustus Stanhope[37][k]
  • 2019–2022: Lord Claud Hamilton[41]

Third Page of Honour

  • 1952–1953: Henry Seymour[20]
  • 1953–1955: Viscount Carlow[42]
  • 1955–1956: John Aird
  • 1956–1958: Lord Ardee
  • 1958–1961: Guy Nevill
  • 1961–1964: David Penn
  • 1964–1966: Edward Hay
  • 1966–1969: Nicholas Bacon
  • 1969–1973: Hon. George Herbert
  • 1973–1975: Napier Marten
  • 1975–1976: James Hussey
  • 1976–1978: William Oswald
  • 1978–1979: John Heseltine
  • 1979–1981: James Maudslay
  • 1981–1984: Guy Russell
  • 1984–1987: Harry Legge-Bourke[l]
  • 1987–1989: Hon. Robert Montgomerie[m]
  • 1989–1992: Rowley Baring
  • 1992–1995: Rory Penn
  • 1995–1998: Thomas Howard[39]
  • 1998–2001: Viscount Chewton
  • 2001–2004: Viscount Garnock
  • 2005–2008: Arthur Hussey
  • 2008–2009: Michael Ogilvy
  • 2009–2015: Arthur Chatto[n]
  • 2015–2018: Marquess of Lorne[37]
  • 2018–2022: Robert Bruce[43]

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 1952–1953: Michael Anson[20]
  • 1953–1956: Hon. Simon Scott[44]
  • 1956–1957: Earl of Shelburne[45]
  • 1957–1959: Oliver Russell
  • 1959–1962: Charles Strachey
  • 1962–1964: Simon Rasch
  • 1964–1966: Richard Ford
  • 1966–1968: James Colville[o]
  • 1968–1971: Alexander Colville[p]
  • 1971–1974: Lord Ogilvy
  • 1974–1977: Edward Gordon-Lennox
  • 1977–1979: Viscount Althorp
  • 1979–1980: Tyrone Plunket[29]
  • 1980–1982: Richard Lytton-Cobbold
  • 1982–1984: Marquess of Hamilton
  • 1984–1988: Piers Blewitt
  • 1988–1990: Lord Hyde
  • 1990–1993: Hon. Alexander Trenchard
  • 1993–1996: Hon. Edward Lowther
  • 1996–1998: Earl Percy
  • 1998–2003: Lord Carnegie
  • 2003–2006: Alexander Fraser[q]
  • 2006–2008: Henry Naylor
  • 2008–2012: Andrew Leeming
  • 2012–2016: Hugo Bertie[40][r]
  • 2016–2018: Thomas Hallé
  • 2018–2022: Max Bowen[43]

Charles III

Pages of Honour at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament

The pages of honour at the 2023 coronation were:[46]

First Page of Honour

  • 2023–present: Nicholas Barclay[48][t]

Second Page of Honour

  • 2023–present: Ralph Tollemache[48][u]

Third Page of Honour

  • 2023–present: Charles van Cutsem[48]

Fourth Page of Honour

  • 2023–present: Lord Oliver Cholmondeley[48][s]

Notes

  1. ^ Son of Sir Henry Legge.
  2. ^ Son of Sir Alexander Abel Smith and Lady Abel Smith, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and half-brother of Sir Mark Palmer, 5th Baronet, First Page of Honour 1956–1959.
  3. ^ Son of Sir Ashley Ponsonby, 2nd Baronet.
  4. ^ Son of David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon.
  5. ^ Great-grandson of Sir Harry Legge-Bourke.
  6. ^ Son of Sir Harry Legge-Bourke.
  7. ^ Great-great-great-grandson of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and grandson of Sir Jock Colville.
  8. ^ Son of Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey.
  9. ^ Son of David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home.
  10. ^ Son of Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
  11. ^ Son of Charles Stanhope, 12th Earl of Harrington.
  12. ^ Grandson of Sir Harry Legge-Bourke.
  13. ^ Son of Archibald Montgomerie, 18th Earl of Eglinton.
  14. ^ Son of Daniel Chatto and Lady Sarah Chatto.
  15. ^ Grandson of Sir Piers Legh, Master of the Household 1941–1953.
  16. ^ Son of Sir Jock Colville.
  17. ^ Son of Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun.
  18. ^ Great-great-grandson of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, of John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute, and of Sidney Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone.
  19. ^ a b Son of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.
  20. ^ a b Grandson of Sarah Troughton.
  21. ^ a b Son of Hon. Edward Tollemache.

References

  1. ^ a b "Dress and insignia worn at His Majesty's court, issued with the authority of the lord chamberlain". Archive.org. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  2. ^ "Photo of Page of Honour attending to the Queen in Edinburgh". Flickr.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  3. ^ Earl Marshal's Regulations (1937) quoted in Mansfield, A., Ceremonial Costume, London: A & C Black, 1980.
  4. ^ "Lt Colonel Charles Augustus West". My West Family. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  5. ^ Hatton, Joseph; Mitford, John; Nichols, John Gough; Parker, John Henry (1854). "1854.J Lt.-Col. West. — Lt.-Col. Handcock. — G. Meynell, Esq. 193". The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review. XLII (MDCCCLIV): 193. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. ^ Millard, Lorraine (2015). "Sampson Perry: A Forgotten Radical and his House of Commons Libel Case, 1792" (PDF). UQ eSpace. The University of Queensland Australia. pp. 19, 93. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  7. ^ "No. 19275". The London Gazette. 2 June 1835. p. 1048.
  8. ^ a b "No. 24506". The London Gazette. 25 September 1877. p. 5367.
  9. ^ "No. 27100". The London Gazette. 18 July 1899. p. 4444.
  10. ^ "No. 27310". The London Gazette. 3 May 1901. p. 3033.
  11. ^ "No. 27466". The London Gazette. 19 August 1902. p. 5398.
  12. ^ "No. 38255". The London Gazette. 6 April 1948. p. 2215.
  13. ^ "No. 38804". The London Gazette. 3 January 1950. p. 59.
  14. ^ "No. 39430". The London Gazette. 1 January 1952. p. 69.
  15. ^ "No. 38097". The London Gazette. 14 October 1947. p. 4807.
  16. ^ "No. 39161". The London Gazette. 2 March 1951. p. 1104.
  17. ^ a b "No. 37524". The London Gazette. 5 April 1946. p. 1743.
  18. ^ "No. 38729". The London Gazette. 4 October 1949. p. 4750.
  19. ^ "No. 39033". The London Gazette. 3 October 1950. p. 4919.
  20. ^ a b c d "No. 39616". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 August 1952. p. 4199.
  21. ^ "No. 40073". The London Gazette. 12 January 1954. p. 303.
  22. ^ "No. 40936". The London Gazette. 27 November 1956. p. 6727.
  23. ^ "No. 42610". The London Gazette. 27 February 1962. p. 1681.
  24. ^ "No. 43400". The London Gazette. 4 August 1964. p. 6607.
  25. ^ "No. 43834". The London Gazette. 7 December 1965. p. 11447.
  26. ^ "No. 44362". The London Gazette. 11 July 1967. p. 7641.
  27. ^ "No. 45140". The London Gazette. 30 June 1970. p. 7205.
  28. ^ a b "No. 46848". The London Gazette. 12 March 1976. p. 3813.
  29. ^ a b c "No. 47734". The London Gazette. 2 January 1979. p. 71.
  30. ^ "No. 48481". The London Gazette. 2 January 1981. p. 77.
  31. ^ "No. 49404". The London Gazette. 1 July 1983. p. 8697.
  32. ^ "No. 50474". The London Gazette. 1 April 1986. p. 4495.
  33. ^ "No. 51525". The London Gazette. 8 November 1988. p. 12509.
  34. ^ "No. 52647". The London Gazette. 3 September 1991. p. 13427.
  35. ^ "No. 53836". The London Gazette. 1 November 1994. p. 15279.
  36. ^ Walker, Tim (2012-03-01). "The Queen turns a page for Viscount Linley's son". Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  37. ^ a b c Appendix to Court Circular, 27 February 2015.
  38. ^ "No. 40063". The London Gazette. 1 January 1954. p. 98.
  39. ^ a b "No. 54036". The London Gazette. 16 May 1995. p. 6949.
  40. ^ a b Appendix to Court Circular, 14 December 2012.
  41. ^ Appendix to Court Circular, 30 June 2019.
  42. ^ "No. 39822". The London Gazette. 10 April 1953. p. 1971.
  43. ^ a b Appendix to Court Circular, 13 July 2015.
  44. ^ "No. 40008". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1953. p. 5921.
  45. ^ "No. 40733". The London Gazette. 16 March 1956. p. 1583.
  46. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  47. ^ "All the Boys Who Served as Pages of Honor at King Charles III's Coronation". Harpers Bazaar. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  48. ^ a b c d State Opening of Parliament 2023, Court Circular 8 November 2023.

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