Page of Honour

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 in the House of Lords at the 2024 State Opening of Parliament

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[citation needed] 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[7] 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[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 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[10] 1907–1910: George Lane

Fourth Page of Honour 1901–1902: Harold Festing 1902–1906: Nigel Legge[11][a] 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[12] 1950–1952: Hon. Charles Wilson[13] 1952: The Earl Erne[14]

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 1936–1940: George Seymour 1940–1946: None due to the Second World War 1946–1949: Bernard Gordon Lennox[17] 1949–1952: Henry Seymour[18]

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

First Page of Honour 1952–1954: The Earl Erne[20] 1954–1956: Hon. Anthony Tryon[21] 1956–1959: Sir Mark Palmer, 5th Baronet[22] 1959–1962: Hon. Julian Hardinge 1962–1964: Earl of Lewes[23] 1964–1965: Lord Scrymgeour[24] 1965–1967: Douglas Gordon[25] 1967–1970: Christopher Abel Smith[26][b] 1970–1973: Louis Greig[27] 1973–1976: Lord Leveson[28] 1976–1978: John Ponsonby[28][c] 1979–1980: Hon. Thomas Coke[29] 1981–1983: James Basset[30] 1983–1986: Hon. Edward Cecil[31] 1986–1988: Benjamin Hamilton[32] 1988–1990: Hon. Edward Tollemache[33] 1991–1994: Edward Janvrin[34] 1994–1996: Simon Ramsay[35] 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[36][d] 2015: Lachlan Legge-Bourke[37][e]

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, Master of Saltoun[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

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

• Prince George of Wales
• Lord Oliver Cholmondeley^[s]
• Nicholas Barclay^[t]
• Ralph Tollemache^[47][u]

First Page of Honour 2023: Nicholas Barclay[48][t] 2024: Hon. Guy Tryon[49][v]

Second Page of Honour 2023: Ralph Tollemache[48][u] 2024: Hon. William Sackville[49][w]

Third Page of Honour 2023: Charles van Cutsem[48][x] 2024: Hon. Alfred Wellesley[49][y]

Fourth Page of Honour 2023: Lord Oliver Cholmondeley[48][s] 2024: Ralph Tollemache[49][u]

Gallery

• 
  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.
• 
  George V and Queen Mary are attended by Pages of Honour in 1911 as they leave St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
• 
  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.
• 
  Pages of Honour on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the 2023 coronation ceremony.
• 
  Pages of Honour at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.

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, 22nd Lady 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. Son of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.
20. Grandson of Sarah Troughton.
21. Son of the Hon. Edward Tollemache.
22. Son of Charles Tryon, 4th Baron Tryon
24. Grandson of Hugh van Cutsem.
25. Son of Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington