Patrick Terence William Span Plunket, 7th Baron Plunket, KCVO (8 September 1923 – 28 May 1975), was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II and Deputy Master of the Household of the Royal Household (1954–1975).[1]

Lord Plunket was born into an old Anglo-Irish aristocratic family on his father's side. His mother, Dorothée Mabel Lewis, was the illegitimate daughter of the actress Fannie Ward and the 7th Marquess of Londonderry.[2] Briefly married to Capt. Jack Barnato, who died during World War I, she married as her second husband the 6th Baron Plunket.

When his parents were killed in an air accident in 1938, Plunket succeeded to the family peerage (created in 1827) as Baron Plunket. He and his brothers were then raised by an aunt, the Hon. Helen Rhodes, and her husband. He was educated at Eton College and joined the Irish Guards.

Lord Plunket was temporary Equerry to King George VI and then to Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II (1948–1954), as a captain. He was 'the nearest thing to a brother to the Queen'.[3] While he was Master of the Household, in 1961, he became a godfather to Viscount Linley (who succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Snowdon in January 2017).[4] On 8 September 1957 he was promoted to major and to lieutenant-colonel 8 April 1969.

Lord Plunket was Trustee of the Wallace Collection and of the National Art Collection Fund.

Plunket was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in the 1955 New Year Honours, a Commander of the Order (CVO) in the 1963 Birthday Honours and a Knight Commander of the Order (KCVO) in the 1974 New Year Honours.

Unmarried, Lord Plunket died of cancer on 28 May 1975. The Queen unusually attended both his funeral at the Chapel Royal and his memorial service at the Guards' Chapel.[1] He is buried in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, the Royal Family's private graveyard in the Home Park near Windsor Castle.[5][6] The Queen had a memorial built for him[1] in Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park (a little pavilion with four columns), at the top of the valley (view from pavilion). His estate was valued at £471,004.[7] Upon his death his younger brother Robin Rathmore Plunket became the 8th Baron Plunket.

Coat of arms of Patrick Plunket, 7th Baron Plunket
Crest
A horse passant Argent charged on the shoulder with a portcullis.
Escutcheon
Sable a bend a castle in chief and a portcullis in base Argent.
Supporters
Dexter an antelope Proper sinister a horse Argent both charged on the shoulder with a portcullis Sable.
Motto
Festina Lente [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Her Majesty's A-Team". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Dorothé Lewis's paternity has been revealed by the 7th Marquess's granddaughter Lady Annabel Goldsmith in her memoirs. She specifically discusses the Marquess's reaction to the death of his illegitimate daughter's first husband, and the effective treatment of her boys by Plunket as first cousins. Exact page reference is not yet available.
  3. ↑ Pope-Hennessy, James (2018). The Quest for Queen Mary. London: Hodder Zuleika. p. 235. ISBN 9781529330618.
  4. ↑ Michaels, Ashley. Sobrinos Reales. ASIN B077H1HWCB.
  5. ↑ Goldsmith, Annabel (8 October 2013). "A Sleep Amongst Royalty; The Story Of A Consummate Courtier With Humorous Éclat; A Monarch's Closest Friend & Mentor; Patrick Plunket!". The Esoteric Curiosa. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Harl, Johann (3 June 2002). "Royal Rumours". New Statesman. p. 19.
  7. ↑ "Search probate records or find a will".
  8. ↑ Burke's Peerage. 1850.
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