In her 68 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II has had a total of nine Private Secretaries. Her first was Captain Sir Alan Lascelles, who also served her father.
He started to serve the Queen when King George VI died, and as she ascended to the throne. Today, Rt. Hon. Edward Young CVO holds the position. It was said that he took the office in 2017 after working in the Royal Household for 13 years.
The Royal Family's official website reveals that the "primary duty" of the Private Secretary is to "assist" the Queen in fulfilling all of her duties and responsibilities. These range from helping her running things around the Royal Household all the way to helping her with almost everything.
But, in a more detailed perspective, the duty and responsibility of Queen Elizabeth II's Private Secretary includes organizing the Monarch's engagements and events for the whole year, and overseeing all the works within The Royal Household. Also, the Private Secretary serves as the "line of communication" between the British Monarch and officials from the British Government.
Aside from these tasks, the Private Secretary also works with all of the Queen's affiliations. These include some members of the church, the Armed Forces, and organizations where Queen Elizabeth II is a patron. As noted, the Queen has over 600 patronages.
All of the Queen's "official correspondence" is also included in the long list of tasks that her Private Secretary does. This means that Edward Young also handles letters from royal watchers, private papers, the Press Office, Royal Archives, the Court Circular, and even the family's "online presence."
With these things at hand, it only goes to show that being a Private Secretary to the British Monarch is not an easy job. While they may not be as popular as the members of the British Royal Family, they are just as important.
In a similar report released by Cheat Sheet, the very first Private Secretary in the British Royal Family took the position in 1805. Despite having no official title, Colonel Herbert Taylor has been considered to be the first.
It was not until 1867 when the role became official. As explained, several Ministers and officials "opposed" the creation of the role at first. But, they ultimately agreed that the British Monarch "needed support."
Many would speculate that Queen Elizabeth II's Private Secretary might be the person inside the Royal Household who earns the most. But, contrary to the popular belief, the Keeper of the Privy Purse has the highest salary among all.
