Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Edward Alexander Smyth-Osbourne, (born 18 May 1964) is a retired senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer.

Early life and education

Smyth-Osbourne was born on 18 May 1964 in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, England. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, an all-boys public school in Berkshire. He studied at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, graduating with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons).

Military career

As GOC Household Division, on duty at the State Opening of Parliament 2015 At the Coronation of King Charles III as Regimental Colonel of The Life Guards Smyth-Osbourne was commissioned into The Life Guards in October 1983. He went on to be Commanding Officer of the

Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both ...

in 2005 and in that role deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2007.Royal wedding guest list: who will be attending Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day
The Telegraph, 23 April 2011 He then became commander of the

38th (Irish) Brigade The 38th (Irish) Brigade, is an administrative headquarters of the British Army that served in the Second World War as a fully functional infantry brigade. It was composed of Northern Ireland, North Irish line infantry regiments and served with di ...

in 2009, Director of the

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

Force Reintegration Cell in 2012, and

Major-General commanding the Household Division The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division of the British Army and is also the General Officer Commanding London District. In British Army parlance, "The Major-General" always refers to the Major-General ...

in July 2013. Smyth-Osbourne was

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

's and

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

's Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry Regiment and acted as their military mentor. He was also Prince Harry's Commanding Officer when the prince undertook active service in Afghanistan. He was invited to the wedding of Prince William and

Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew u ...

in April 2011. Smyth-Osbourne relinquished command of the Household Division on 11 June 2016 and was knighted and invested as a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order 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 ...

by the Queen. He became Deputy Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy in July 2016, and took command of the

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a rapid reaction force maintained by NATO. It is capable of deploying a High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters at short notice for operations and crisis response. History The ARRC was created on 1 ...

in July 2019. He retired in April 2022. Smyth-Osbourne was appointed

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of The Life Guards and Gold Stick in Waiting to the Queen on 7 June 2019. He was appointed Honorary Colonel Wiltshire Army Cadet Force on 1 December 2024.

Personal life

In 1996, Smyth-Osbourne married Lucy Turner. Together they have two children: one son and one daughter.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth-Osbourne, Edward 1964 births Alumni of the University of St Andrews British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British Life Guards officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Living people People educated at Eton College Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon