Lord Rupert Charles Montecute Nevill (29 January 1923 – 19 July 1982) was Chairman of the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

from 1966 to 1977 and then its President until his death. As a

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 officia ...

, he was treasurer and later

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 t ...

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

, between 1970 and 1982.

Early life

Nevill was the younger son of Guy Larnach-Nevill, 4th Marquess of Abergavenny and his wife Isabel Nellie Larnach and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

Career

During the Second World War, Lord Rupert Nevill gained the rank of captain in the Life Guards. He served as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Horrocks during the allied advance in 1945 and continued as aide-de-camp after the war until 1947. Nevill served as Chairman of the

from 1966 to 1977 and as its President from 1977 until his death in 1982, being succeeded in this role by

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Kin ...

. He was President of the

British Show Jumping Association British Showjumping is the Great Britain governing body for the equestrian sport of showjumping. It provides the competitors for Team GBR in international competition and sets the rules under which affiliated competitions are held. It is one of ...

between 1973 and 1976. Nevill was also President of the Metropolitan Union of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

from 1956, a member of the World Council of the YMCA from 1956, vice-chairman of the National YMCA 1963-1966, and president from 1966. He was a member of the Uckfield Rural District Council (1949–1967) and of

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts. Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes; Wealden; and Rother). ...

(1954–1967), a Justice of the Peace of Sussex from 1953, and a Deputy Lieutenant of Sussex from 1960. He was

High Sheriff of Sussex The office of Sheriff of Sussex was established before the Norman Conquest. The Office of sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office ...

for 1952–1953. He was a member of the Sussex St John's Council from 1952 and chairman from 1966. Nevill was treasurer to the

from 1970 to 1982 and his

from 1976 to 1982. He was one of the godfathers of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

’s son

David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (born 3 November 1961), styled as Viscount Linley until 2017 and known professionally as David Linley, is an English furniture maker, a former chairman of the auction house Christie's UK, ...

Personal life

On 22 April 1944, Nevill married Lady Anne Camilla Evelyn Wallop, a daughter of

Gerard Vernon Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth Gerard Vernon Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth (16 May 1898 – 28 September 1984), styled Viscount Lymington from 1925 until 1943, was a British landowner, writer on agricultural topics, and politician involved in right-wing groups. Early life G ...

and Mary Lawrence Post. Both Nevill and his wife were childhood friends of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. They lived at Horsted Place and were sometimes referred to at

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

as ‘the little people’ because of their small stature. The Nevills had four children: * Guy Rupert Gerard Nevill (29 March 1945 – 5 February 1993), godson of Elizabeth II; he married Lady Beatrix Mary Lambton, daughter of

Antony Lambton Antony Claud Frederick Lambton, (10 July 1922 – 30 December 2006), briefly 6th Earl of Durham, styled before 1970 as Viscount Lambton, and widely known as Lord Lambton, was a Conservative Member of Parliament and a cousin of Sir Alec Douglas ...

, 6th Earl of Durham. * Lady Angela Isabel Mary Nevill (b. 2 January 1948), a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones; married William Keating (d. 4 November 1998) on 12 March 1994. * Christopher George Charles Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny (b. 23 April 1955), married Venetia V. Maynard and had twins. * Lady Henrietta Emily Charlotte Nevill (b. 21 June 1964), goddaughter of

; married Lt. Col. Timothy Purbrick. They have four children. Lord Rupert Nevill died on 19 July 1982, aged 59. A memorial service was held at

St Margaret's Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminst ...

, and he was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Eridge.

Honours

He was vested as a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (K.St.J.) in 1972, and he was appointed 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, ...

(C.V.O.) in 1978.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevill, Lord Rupert 1923 births 1982 deaths People educated at Eton College Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Order of St John Younger sons of marquesses Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex English justices of the peace High Sheriffs of Sussex YMCA leaders