Sir Robert Henry Meade (16 December 1835 – 8 January 1898) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

and the Head of the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

between 1892 and 1897.

Life

Meade was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Lady Elizabeth Herbert. Clanwilliam, an Irish peer, had served as Private Secretary to

Lord Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Irish-born British st ...

and subsequently as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. T ...

. Meade was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

in 1854, graduating B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1860. He formed a close and affectionate relationship with his mother’s brother, Sidney Herbert. In 1859, he sat the examination for the Foreign Office, which he entered as a third class clerk. The work of a junior clerk in the Foreign Office at the time was tedious, consisting mostly of the copying of confidential documents, but the hours were short (11.00 am to 5.00 pm) and the holidays long. Meade escaped this routine in 1860, when he was chosen to accompany

Lord Dufferin Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (21 June 182612 February 1902), was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Victoria, ...

on his mission to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

as Commissioner, and again in 1861-1862, when he accompanied the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

on an Eastern tour. Following his return, Meade was in attendance on the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

during her visit to

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

later in 1862. In June 1864, he was appointed as Private Secretary to

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (11 May 1815 – 31 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secret ...

. In 1868, Meade followed Lord Granville to the

, then briefly to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

when Granville became Foreign Secretary in 1870; but Meade returned to the Colonial Office in 1871 as Assistant Under-Secretary, becoming

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent under-secretary of state, known informally as a permanent secretary, is the most senior civil servant of a ministry in the United Kingdom, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. Permanent secretaries are appointe ...

in 1892. In December 1896, he fell and broke his leg, an injury from which he never recovered: it forced his retirement in March 1897 and he died soon after, in January 1898.

Reputation

Lord Ripon George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British p ...

, the Liberal Colonial Secretary between 1892 and 1895, wrote to him in 1895:

Edward Walter Hamilton Sir Edward Walter Hamilton, (7 July 1847 – 2 September 1908HAMILTON, Sir Edward Walter’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007), also known as Eddy Hamilton, was a British political diarist and ...

wrote in his diary on the occasion of Meade's death: "He had great personal charm and throughout his extraordinary fateful life his pluck never failed him."

Family

Meade married, first, Lady Mary Elizabeth Lascelles (the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Harewood), who died in 1866. Their daughter, Mary, died in 1897. He married, secondly, Caroline Georgiana Grenfell (the daughter of Charles William Grenfell MP), who died in 1881. They had one son,

Charles Francis Meade Charles Francis Meade (born 25 February 1881 – died 1975) was an English mountaineer and author. Early life Born in England, Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell. His mother di ...

(1881–1975).

References

Sources

*http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/clanwm.htm *"Death Of Sir Robert Meade", ''The Times'', London, 10 January 1898, page 9

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Meade, Robert Henry Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of HM Foreign Service Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Civil servants in the Colonial Office Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Younger sons of earls 1898 deaths 1835 births