Page of Honour explained

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

• 1685: Thomas Windsor
• 1685: Reynold Graham
• 1685: James Levinston

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

• 1714–1724: Thomas Murray
• 1724–1727: Sir William Irby, Bt

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

• 1727–1731: Henry Panton
• 1731–1735: Henry d'Arcy
• 1735–1739: John Ashburnham
• 1739–1744: Bluett Wallop
• 1744–1747: Hon. William Howe
• 1747–1751: Hon. George West
• 1751–1755: William Feilding
• 1755–1760: Hon. Henry Monckton

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

• 1760–1761: Hon. Edmund Boyle
• 1761–1768: John Manners
• 1768–1782: Francis Mackenzie
• 1782–1789: John Murray
• 1789–1794: Charles Jenkinson
• 1794–1800: William Dansey
• 1800–1804: Hon. Edward Irby
• 1804–1811: Henry Somerset
• 1812–1817: Charles Arbuthnot
• 1817–1820: Frederick Paget

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

• 1820–1823: Frederick Paget
• 1823–1826: William Burton
• 1826–1830: Frederick Hamilton

Third Page of Honour

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

Fourth Page of Honour

• 1820–1825: Arthur Torrens
• 1825–1830: Joseph Hudson

William IV

First Page of Honour

• 1830–1835: Henry d'Aguilar
• 1835–1837: Charles Ellice

Second Page of Honour

• 1830–1831: Frederick Hamilton
• 1831–1837: Frederick Stephenson

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

• 1837–1839: Charles Ellice
• 1839–1844: Charles Wemyss
• 1844–1852: George Gordon
• 1852–1859: Henry Farquharson
• 1859–1862: Edmund Boyle
• 1862–1869: Hon. Spencer Jocelyn
• 1869–1871: Hon. Frederick Bruce
• 1871–1876: Victor Biddulph
• 1876–1881: Hon. Victor Spencer
• 1881–1884: Percy Cust
• 1884–1890: Eric Thesiger
• 1890–1894: Hon. Maurice Drummond
• 1894–1901: Josslyn Egerton
• 1901–1901: John Bigge

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
• 1877–1882: Albert Wellesley
• 1882–1887: Arthur Ponsonby
• 1887–1892: Victor Wellesley
• 1892–1895: Albert Clarke
• 1895–1899: Hon. John Henniker–Major
• 1899–1901: The Viscount Torrington

Third Page of Honour

• 1837–1839: Lord Kilmarnock
• 1839–1841: Hon. Adolphus Chichester
• 1841–1856: Archibald Stuart-Wortley
• 1856–1862: Viscount Cuffe Castle
• 1862–1868: Hon. Arthur Lyttleton
• 1868–1874: Hon. George Somerset
• 1874–1879: Count Edward Gleichen
• 1879–1883: Frederic Kerr
• 1883–1893: Gerald Ellis
• 1893: Arthur Wood
• 1893–1896: Sir Albert Seymour, Bt.
• 1896–1901: Hon. Ivan Hay

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

First Page of Honour

• 1901–1904: John Bigge
• 1904–1910: Hon. Edward Knollys

Second Page of Honour

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

Third Page of Honour

• 1901: Hon. Ivan Josselyn Hay
• 1901–1907: Hon. Victor Alexander Spencer
• 1907–1910: George Lane

Fourth Page of Honour

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

George V

First Page of Honour

• 1910–1911: Hon. Edward Knollys
• 1911–1917: Edward Reid
• 1917–1921: Iain Murray
• 1921–1924: The Earl Erne
• 1924–1927: Allan Mackenzie
• 1927–1932: Alfred Hesketh-Prichard
• 1932–1936: Patrick Crichton

Second Page of Honour

• 1910–1913: Anthony Lowther
• 1913–1916: Hon. Thomas Brand
• 1916–1919: Edward Ponsonby
• 1919–1925: George Godfrey-Faussett
• 1925–1932: Neville Wigram
• 1932–1935: Colin Mackenzie
• 1935–1936: The Lord Herschell

Third Page of Honour

• 1910: George Lane
• 1910–1914: Victor Harbord
• 1914–1917: Gerald Lloyd-Verney
• 1917–1919: Richard Dawnay
• 1919–1923: Henry Hunloke
• 1923–1927: Michael Adeane
• 1927–1931: Jock Colville
• 1931–1935: Viscount Errington
• 1935–1936: George Seymour

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

• 1936: The Lord Herschell

Third Page of Honour

• 1936: George Seymour

Fourth Page of Honour

• 1936: George Hardinge

George VI

First Page of Honour

• 1936–1940: Robert Eliot
• 1940–1948: None due to the Second World War
• 1948–1950: Lord Hyde
• 1950–1952: Hon. Charles Wilson
• 1952: The Earl Erne

Second Page of Honour

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

Third Page of Honour

• 1936–1940: George Seymour
• 1940–1946: None due to the Second World War
• 1946–1949: Bernard Gordon Lennox
• 1949–1952: Henry Seymour

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
• 1950–1952: Michael Anson

Elizabeth II

First Page of Honour

• 1952–1954: The Earl Erne
• 1954–1956: Hon. Anthony Tryon
• 1956–1959: Sir Mark Palmer, 5th Baronet
• 1959–1962: Hon. Julian Hardinge
• 1962–1964: Earl of Lewes
• 1964–1965: Lord Scrymgeour
• 1965–1967: Douglas Gordon
• 1967–1970: Christopher Abel Smith
• 1970–1973: Louis Greig
• 1973–1976: Lord Leveson
• 1976–1978: John Ponsonby
• 1979–1980: Hon. Thomas Coke
• 1981–1983: James Basset
• 1983–1986: Hon. Edward Cecil
• 1986–1988: Benjamin Hamilton
• 1988–1990: Hon. Edward Tollemache
• 1991–1994: Edward Janvrin
• 1994–1996: Simon Ramsay
• 1996–1999: Lord Eskdaill
• 1999–2002: Lord Maltravers
• 2002–2004: Archibald Young
• 2004–2008: George FitzRoy
• 2008–2012: Jack Soames
• 2012–2015: Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones^[7]
• 2015: Lachlan Legge-Bourke^[8]

Second Page of Honour

• 1952–1954: Jonathan Peel
• 1954–1956: Edward Adeane
• 1956–1957: Duncan Davidson
• 1957–1958: Andrew Gordon
• 1960–1962: David Hughes-Wake-Walker
• 1962–1963: Viscount Ipswich
• 1963–1964: Heneage Legge-Bourke
• 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
• 1981–1983: Marquess of Lorne
• 1983–1984: Hon. Hugh Crossley
• 1984–1988: Malcolm Maclean
• 1988–1991: Hon. Charles Tryon
• 1991–1995: James Bowes-Lyon
• 1995–1997: Hon. William Vestey
• 1997–2000: Lord Dunglass
• 2000–2004: Hon. John Bowes-Lyon
• 2004–2008: Viscount Garnock
• 2008–2012: Lord Stanley
• 2012–2015: Viscount Aithrie^[9]
• 2015–2019: Hon. Augustus Stanhope^[8]
• 2019–2022: Lord Claud Hamilton^[10]

Third Page of Honour

• 1952–1953: Henry Seymour
• 1953–1955: Viscount Carlow
• 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
• 1987–1989: Hon. Robert Montgomerie
• 1989–1992: Rowley Baring
• 1992–1995: Rory Penn
• 1995–1998: Thomas Howard
• 1998–2001: Viscount Chewton
• 2001–2004: Viscount Garnock
• 2005–2008: Arthur Hussey
• 2008–2009: Michael Ogilvy
• 2009–2015: Arthur Chatto
• 2015–2018: Marquess of Lorne^[8]
• 2018–2022: Robert Bruce

Fourth Page of Honour

• 1952–1953: Michael Anson
• 1953–1956: Hon. Simon Scott
• 1956–1957: Earl of Shelburne
• 1957–1959: Oliver Russell
• 1959–1962: Charles Strachey
• 1962–1964: Simon Rasch
• 1964–1966: Richard Ford
• 1966–1968: James Colville
• 1968–1971: Alexander Colville
• 1971–1974: Lord Ogilvy
• 1974–1977: Edward Gordon-Lennox
• 1977–1979: Viscount Althorp
• 1979–1980: Tyrone Plunket
• 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
• 2006–2008: Henry Naylor
• 2008–2012: Andrew Leeming
• 2012–2016: Hugo Bertie^[9]
• 2016–2018: Thomas Hallé
• 2018–2022: Max Bowen^[11]

Charles III

The pages of honour at the 2023 coronation were:^[12]

• Prince George of Wales
• Lord Oliver Cholmondeley
• Nicholas Barclay
• Ralph Tollemache^[13]

First Page of Honour

• 2023–present: Nicholas Barclay^[14]

Second Page of Honour

• 2023–present: Ralph Tollemache

Third Page of Honour

• 2023–present: Charles van Cutsem

Fourth Page of Honour

• 2023–present: Lord Oliver Cholmondeley

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dress and insignia worn at His Majesty's court, issued with the authority of the lord chamberlain . Archive.org . 2016-03-30.
2. Web site: Photo of Page of Honour attending to the Queen in Edinburgh. Flickr.com. 2016-03-30.
3. Earl Marshal's Regulations (1937) quoted in Mansfield, A., Ceremonial Costume, London: A & C Black, 1980.
4. Web site: Lt Colonel Charles Augustus West . My West Family . 2023-07-21.
5. Hatton . Joseph . Mitford . John . Nichols . John Gough . Parker . John Henry . 1854.J Lt.-Col. West. — Lt.-Col. Handcock. — G. Meynell, Esq. 193 . The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review . 1854 . XLII . MDCCCLIV . 193 . 21 July 2023.
6. Web site: Millard . Lorraine . Sampson Perry: A Forgotten Radical and his House of Commons Libel Case, 1792 . UQ eSpace . The University of Queensland Australia . 21 July 2023 . 19, 93 . 2015.
7. News: Walker . Tim . The Queen turns a page for Viscount Linley's son . Telegraph . 2012-03-01 . 2016-03-30.
8. Appendix to Court Circular, 27 February 2015.
9. Appendix to Court Circular, 14 December 2012.
10. Appendix to Court Circular, 30 June 2019.
11. Appendix to Court Circular, 13 July 2015.
12. News: Coronation order of service in full . BBC News . 5 May 2023 . 6 May 2023.
13. Web site: All the Boys Who Served as Pages of Honor at King Charles III's Coronation . Harpers Bazaar . 6 May 2023 . 6 May 2023.
14. State Opening of Parliament 2023, Court Circular 8 November 2023.