Sir Marcus John Cheke (20 October 1906 – 22 June 1960) was a British diplomat and courtier.

Career

Marcus Cheke was educated at

Clayesmore School Clayesmore School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for pupils aged 8–18 years, in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of The Headmaster ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. In the British

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

of 1929 he stood as Liberal candidate for the New Forest and Christchurch constituency but was defeated by the sitting MP,

Wilfrid Ashley Colonel Wilfrid William Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple, PC DL (13 September 1867 – 3 July 1939) was a British soldier and Conservative politician. He was Minister of Transport between 1924 and 1929 under Stanley Baldwin. Background and edu ...

. Cheke was Honorary

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

at the British Embassy,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, 1931–34 and at

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

1934–37; Press Attaché, Lisbon, 1938–42; attached to the staff of the Lisbon Embassy with the local rank of First Secretary 1942–45; and Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps 1946–57. He was appointed Minister to the Holy See in 1957 and died in office in Rome in 1960. He was also an Extra

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

to the Queen from 1957. Cheke was appointed CVO in 1952, CMG in 1955 and knighted KCVO in 1957.

Personal

In 1939 Marcus Cheke married the Honourable Constance Elizabeth Lopes, daughter of the 1st Baron Roborough. They had no children. In 1945, when leaving Lisbon, Cheke donated a painting to the Câmara Municipal (city council), by him, depicting the Terreiro do Paço.

Publications

* ''Papillée'', Faber & Gwyer, London, 1927 * ''The licking eminiscences of the author's childhood', Grayhound Press, Winchester, 1931 * ''Hide and Seek'', Collins, London, 1934 * ''A tale of Lisbon poem', The Shakespeare Head Press, Oxford, 1937 * ''Dictator of Portugal: A Life of the Marquis of Pombal, 1699–1782'', Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1938 * Acta n.º 99, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, 1945 * ''Carlota Joaquina, Queen of Portugal'', Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1947 * ''Guidance on Foreign Usages and Ceremony, and Other Matters, for a Member of His Majesty's Foreign Service on His First Appointment to a Post Abroad'', HM Diplomatic Corps, London, 1949 * ''The Cardinal de Bernis'', Cassell, London, 1958

References

CHEKE, Sir Marcus (John)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 19 Feb 2012
The Pope calls on Sir Marcus
The Catholic Herald, 3 June 1960
Copac - Brief Record Display - Marcus Cheke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheke, Marcus John 1906 births 1960 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Holy See People educated at Clayesmore School