Sir Michael Charles Gerrard Peat (born 16 November 1949) is an English retired accountant and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

. He was the

Principal Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...

between 2002 and 2011.

Life and career

Peat was born in 1949 and is great-grandson of

William Barclay Peat Sir William Barclay Peat (15 February 1852 – 24 January 1936) was an accountant and one of the founders of KPMG. Career Peat born in Forebank, St Cyrus, Kincardine, Scotland. He was the second son of James Peat and Margaret Barclay (of t ...

, founder of the accountancy firm of Peat Marwick. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he received an MA degree. He later attended the

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

in Fontainebleau,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and obtained an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree in 1977. He became an Associate Chartered Accountant in 1965 and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA) in 1975. Peat joined Peat Marwick Mitchell in 1972, became a partner in 1985. He led a 1986 study into the

financial management Financial management is the business function concerned with profitability, expenses, cash and credit, so that the "organization may have the means to carry out its objective as satisfactorily as possible;" the latter often defined as maximizin ...

of the Royal Household. From 1987 to 1990, he was the

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...

of the

Privy Purse The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018. Overview The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (200 ...

and administrative adviser to the Royal Household. In 1990, he was appointed Director of Finance and Property Services of the Royal Household, while remaining a partner at KPMG. He retired from KPMG in 1993, and in 1996 was appointed

Keeper of the Privy Purse The Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King/Queen (or Financial Secretary to the King/Queen) is responsible for the financial management of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is assisted by th ...

and

Treasurer to the Queen The Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King/Queen (or Financial Secretary to the King/Queen) is responsible for the financial management of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is assisted by t ...

and

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

. He retired from these positions in 2002, when he was appointed as private secretary to the Prince of Wales, taking control of the Office of the Prince of Wales. In 2005 he was made Principal Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Peat stepped down as the Prince of Wales' private secretary in January 2011. He continued to undertake investment and financial projects for the Prince and provide advice on a part-time basis. Peat was replaced as principal private secretary by William Nye, formerly director of the National Security Secretariat, Cabinet Office and a career civil servant with experience working at the Home Office and the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

. Peat became the new independent chairman of GEMS Education's Board of Directors in 2014.

Honours

Peat was made a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(CVO) in 1994, promoted to a Knight Commander (KCVO) in 1998, and promoted again to Knight Grand Cross (GCVO) of the same order on 17 October 2011. Peat is a freemason. He has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establis ...

for 20 years service to the Royal Family.

References

External links

*"Sir Michael Peat: Right hand man." BBC. 6 November 2003.
/sup> *"Sir Michael Peat: The royal axe man." BBC. 13 November 2003.
/sup> *"''The Guardian'' profile: Sir Michael Peat." ''The Guardian''. 25 February 2005.
/sup> ′ {{DEFAULTSORT:Peat, Michael 1949 births Living people Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Members of the Household of the Prince of Wales INSEAD alumni English accountants KPMG people GEMS schools Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England