Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham

The Right Honourable Arthur Bigge GCB, GCVO, GCIE, KCSI, KCMG, ISO, PC
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
In office 1895–1901
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	Sir Henry Ponsonby
Succeeded by	Sir Francis Knollys
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
In office 1910–1931
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	The Lord Knollys
Succeeded by	Sir Clive Wigram
Personal details
Born	18 June 1849
Died	31 March 1931
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Royal Military Academy

Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, GCB, GCVO, GCIE, KCSI, KCMG , ISO, PC (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931), was a British soldier and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to King George V during most of his reign. He was the maternal grandfather of Lord Adeane, Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1972.

Background and education

Bigge was the son of John Frederic Bigge (1814–1885) Vicar of Stamfordham, Northumberland and the grandson of Charles William Bigge (1773–1849) of Benton House, Little Benton, Newcastle on Tyne and Linden Hall, Longhorsley, Northumberland, High Sheriff of Northumberland and a prominent merchant and banker in Newcastle on Tyne. He was educated at Rossall School and the Royal Military Academy and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Bigge served in the Zulu War and retired in 1898 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria from 1895 to 1901 and to King George V from 1910 to 1931.^{[citation needed]} He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1910 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Stamfordham, of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland, in 1911. He exerted considerable influence over King George V,^{[citation needed]} advising the King to change the family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor; persuading the King to deny asylum to Tsar Nicholas II and his family, who were thus forced to remain in Russia and who were murdered by the Bolsheviks; and interpreting the King's response Bugger Bognor as assent to the renaming of Bognor as Bognor Regis.

Family

Bigge's only son, John Neville Bigge, was killed in action in 1915.^{[citation needed]} A daughter, the Honourable Victoria Eugenie, married Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane. She was the mother of Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1972. Lord Stamfordham died in March 1931, aged 81, when the barony became extinct.

Styles

• 1849-1871: Arthur John Bigge
• 1871-1880: Lieutenant Arthur John Bigge
• 1880-1884: Captain Arthur John Bigge
• 1884-1885: Captain Arthur John Bigge, CB
• 1885-1887: Major Arthur John Bigge, CB
• 1887-1893: Major Arthur John Bigge, CB, CMG
• 1893-1895: Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur John Bigge, CB, CMG
• 1895-1901: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur John Bigge, KCB, CMG
• 1901-1902: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur John Bigge, GCVO, KCB, CMG
• 1902-1903: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur John Bigge, GCVO, KCB, KCMG
• 1903-1910: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur John Bigge, GCVO, KCB, KCMG, ISO

References

Court offices
Preceded by Sir Henry Ponsonby	Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1895–1901	Succeeded by The Viscount Knollys
Preceded by The Viscount Knollys	Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1910–1931	Succeeded by Sir Clive Wigram
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Stamfordham 1911–1931	Extinct