Earl of Erne honoured to become Knight Commander

Editorial Department • Published 12 Jan 2012 13:00 0 Comments

The Earl of Erne "feels very honoured and humbled at the same time" to the recent announcement that he is being made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order(KCVO).

The honour made directly by Her Majesty, The Queen, in contrast to the New Year's Honour's List by the Prime Minister, was given for his work and length of duty as Lord Lieutenant for Fermanagh.

Currently Lord Erne is the longest serving Lord Lieutenant in the United Kingdom, having been appointed in 1986. However he steps down from the role on July 9 this year, as he will be 75, the maximum age for a holder of the title.

"I regarded this as a great privilege to represent Her Majesty," he told The Impartial Reporter.

During his 25 years as Lord Lieutenant, Lord Erne has officially welcomed royalty to the county, in particular the Queen's visit to Ballinamallard, the Queen Mother's visit to re-open Castle Coole, the visit by Prince Charles and Princess Diana and then Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the welcoming the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. He also took part in the annual Remembrance ceremony in Enniskillen and of course the Enniskillen bomb of 1987 was only his second year in his ceremonial role at the Cenotaph.

He says he also had a role in the conferring of British citizenship to people at Hillsborough Castle, including his Swedish born wife.

His role as Lord Lieutenant also involved one meeting a year for all Lieutenants at St. James' Palace in London.

In his spare time, Lord Erne enjoys looking after the West Wing at Crom Castle on behalf of his son and of course is well known as an avid painter, having published books and launched exhibitions of his work.

Lord Erne has also been involved in many aspects of community work including the Red Cross, the Share Centre and the Royal British Legion.

The conferring of the title of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order will take place in London later this year.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 12 Jan 12

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