Sir Arthur Horace Penn,

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

, MC (20 April 1886 – 30 December 1960), soldier and courtier, was a member of the Royal Household of the

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

Early life

Penn was the son of William Penn, of Taverham Hall,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, where he was born in 1886. He was educated first at Eton, and later at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

where he read law, and was called to the bar of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1910. He served as a captain in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

Special Force from 1916 to 1918, and was adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, and again from 1941 to 1945 as regimental adjutant. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

for services in World War I.

Royal service

He joined the Royal Household in 1937 at the time of the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

and was a

Groom-in-Waiting The office of Groom in Waiting (sometimes hyphenated as Groom-in-Waiting) was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be d ...

to the king, an Extra Equerry in 1940 private secretary to then Queen Elizabeth, when he was appointed as

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 th ...

, which became Treasurer to the Queen Mother upon the death of George VI. He was again appointed Groom-in-Waiting, to Queen Elizabeth II, in 1952. As a senior member of the royal household, he was a leading guest at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Room http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/royalwedding1947/object.asp?grouping=&exhibs=NONE&object=9000366&row=82&detail=magnify He was made CVO in 1946, advanced to KCVO in 1949, and to GCVO in 1953. Penn was chairman of the billbrokers King and Shaxson, Ltd; Steward of the Courts at Eton; and he was the best man at the marriage of

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

to Lady Dorothy Cavendish in 1920. He died a day before he was due to retire from royal service.

References

1886 births 1960 deaths Equerries Grenadier Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Eton College Members of the Inner Temple British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II {{England-bio-stub