Former head of MI5 to be Lord Chamberlain to the Royal Household

 _. Lord Parker of Minsmere, KCB, the former Director General of MI5, has been appointed to a senior position in the Royal Hosehold. The newly created life peer is to succeed Earl Peel as Lord Chamberlain from 1 April, 2021.

Lord Parker of Minsmere (born 1962) is a former British intelligence officer who, as Sir Andrew Parker, served as Director General of MI5 until 2020, the Security Service, which is the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence agency.

Lord Parker's peerage, was gazetted in recent days in the name, style and title of Baron Parker of Minsmere, of Minsmere in the County of Suffolk. He was appointed KCB in 2019.

The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The office organises all ceremonial activity such as garden parties, state visits, royal weddings, and the State Opening of Parliament. They also handle the Royal Mews and Royal Travel, as well as the ceremony around the awarding of honours.

The current Lord Chamberland, the 3rd Earl Peel [born 3 Oct 1947], Lord Chamberlain since 2006, is married to the Hon Charlotte Clementine Soames [born 17 July, 1954], a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. Earl Peel, a North Yorkshire landowner seated at Gunnerside in Swaledale, retires from his post on 31 March, 2021.

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