Queen carries out first in-person event of the year as she personally bestows top honour on her Master of the Household
- Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt is Master of the Household for the Queen
- His department runs official and private entertaining for all the royal residences
- He was awarded the honour on Thursday afternoon during a private ceremony
- It was held at Windsor Castle, where the Queen has been spending the lockdown
The Queen has carried out her first official in-person event of the year and made one of her most senior royal aides a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt is Master of the Household, running a department responsible for everything involved in official and private entertaining across all the royal residences.
He was awarded the honour on Thursday afternoon during a private socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle where the Queen has been spending the lockdown.
Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt (pictured with the Queen in July) is Master of the Household, running a department responsible for everything involved in official and private entertaining across all the royal residences
He was awarded the honour on Thursday afternoon during a private socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle where the Queen has been spending the lockdown. Left: At Ascot in 2019
He is sometimes seen in public keeping a watchful eye at big events and was called into action when NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen at Windsor (pictured) last summer, carrying the veteran’s Knight Bachelor insignia ahead of the ceremony
In a 2016 interview he praised the Queen, saying: ‘Her Majesty cares about people deeply.
‘Often she will say to me, if I’ve got a personal issue, she will say, ”Master, are you being kind?” and I say, ”Yes, of course Your Majesty”.’
His team’s remit spans hospitality, catering and housekeeping arrangements and includes everyone from florists and upholsterers to specialist craftspeople and caterers.
Sir Tony is a former Royal Navy officer who served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War and later commanded a Type 23 frigate.
He is sometimes seen in public keeping a watchful eye at big events and was called into action when NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen last summer, carrying the veteran’s Knight Bachelor insignia ahead of the ceremony.
Sir Tony was also present when a scaled down ceremony – dubbed a mini-Trooping – was held last June to mark the Queen’s official birthday.
Awards under the RVO are in the Queen’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the Royal Family in a personal way.
WHO ELSE HAS RECEIVED THE ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER?
Queen Victoria’s first two appointments were to her sons Albert, Prince of Wales, and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
Queen Elizabeth has also appointed several members of her own family as Knights and Dames Grand Cross.
In 1960 the Duke Of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was appointed. In 1974 the Duke of Gloucester received his award and the Duchess of Gloucester also received one in 1989.
The Countess of Wessex, right, became a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 2010 and is pictured wearing the it on a sash
Prince Philip, pictured with the Queen, received the Royal Victorian Order in 2017 in celebration of their 70th wedding anniversary
Other high ranking female members of the royal family to receive the order include the Countess of Wessex in 2010 and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2012.
The Queen also awarded Prince Philip the honour in 2017 in celebration of their 70th wedding anniversary.
Several honorary knights and Dames grand cross have also been appointed during the Queen’s reign.
These include Emperor Akihito of Japan in 1953, Kuwaiti diplomat Khaled Al-Duwaisan, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations Kamalesh Sharma and Prince, later King Felipe of Spain in 1988.