Paul Kevin Whybrew, (born 1959) is a British former courtier to the

Royal Households of the United Kingdom The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, ...

. He served as Page of the Backstairs to

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 ...

until her death on 8 September 2022.

Role

His role as personal page to the Queen required that he catered to a significant proportion of her daily needs. He was given accommodation by the Queen at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were boug ...

and

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estat ...

. Whybrew was one of a number of long-time, loyal staff to keep the Queen company in her final days at Balmoral.

Incident

In 1982, Whybrew spoke to

Michael Fagan Michael Fagan (born 8 August 1948) is a British citizen who intruded into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom in Buckingham Palace in 1982. Early life Michael Fagan was born in Clerkenwell, London, on 8 August 1948, the son of Ivy and Michael Fagan ...

. Fagan had evaded security and broken into the royal bedroom at Buckingham Palace.

Honours

In addition to his honours, Whybrew was appointed

serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

to the Queen in 2008. The role was first established in the 12th Century. Having already been appointed

Member 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, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(MVO), Whybrew was appointed

Lieutenant 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, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(LVO) during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Honours. Already a holder of the Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) in Silver, he was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in Gold in the

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

. He has 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 establi ...

for service to the Royal Family. In the 2023 Demise Honours List he was promoted to Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen EII Platinum Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Elizabeth II Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal ribbon

Personal life

Whybrew, known as "Tall Paul", was born at

Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...

, in 1959 and is tall. He attended Clacton County High School. He was also known as "Tall Paul" in contrast to another of the Queen's footmen,

Paul Burrell Paul Burrell (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Princess Diana. Background and Royal Household career Burrell was born and raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village. Hi ...

, who was known as "Small Paul". Whybrew appeared in the Buckingham Palace scenes of the short comedic film ''Happy and Glorious'', featured in the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which the Queen is seen jumping out of a helicopter with

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

(

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to ' ...

).https://www.newsweek.com/how-queen-elizabeth-enured-famous-james-bond-daniel-craig-scene-was-authentic-1685801

References

1959 births Living people Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Royal Victorian Medal {{UK-mil-bio-stub