Paul Kevin Whybrew, (born 1959) is a British former member of staff 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, f ...

. He served as Page of the Backstairs to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

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 List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

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 bought ...

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 est ...

. Whybrew was one of a number of longtime staff who kept the Queen company in her final days at Balmoral. He took part in the Royal Procession at the

Coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

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 , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

Incident

In 1982, Whybrew spoke to Michael Fagan. Fagan had evaded security and broken into the royal bedroom at Buckingham Palace.

Honours

In addition to his honours, Whybrew was appointed

to the Queen in 2008. The role was first established in the 12th century. Whybrew was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(MVO) in the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to c ...

, promoted to Lieutenant of same Order (LVO) in the

2012 Diamond Jubilee Honours The list of Diamond Jubilee Honours 2012 was released on 13 September 2012 and made appointments and promotions within the Royal Victorian Order (and awards of the Royal Victorian Medal) to recognise contributions to the celebration of the Diamo ...

, and promoted again to Commander of the Order (CVO) in the 2023 Demise Honours. Besides this, he was awarded the

Royal Victorian Medal The Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) is a decoration established by Queen Victoria in April 1896. A part of the Royal Victorian Order, it is a reward for personal service to the Sovereign or the royal family, and is the personal gift of the Soverei ...

(RVM) twice, first in Silver in the

1993 Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's b ...

and then 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 p ...

. He furthermore 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 awards and decorations, civil decoration awarded by the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch to servants of their Royal Households of the United Kingdom, royal household fo ...

for service to the Royal Family.

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 in Essex, England, and is the principal settlement of Braintree District. It is located north-east of Chelmsford, west of Colchester and north-west of Southend-on-Sea. According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Cens ...

, 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 Diana, Princess of Wales. Background and Royal Household career Burrell was born and raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining ...

, who was known as "Small Paul". Whybrew appeared in the

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

scenes of the short comedic film ''Happy and Glorious'', featured in the opening ceremonies of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, in which the Queen is seen jumping out of a helicopter with

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

(

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...

References

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