Official Royal Posts: Lord Lieutenants

<![CDATA[The Lord Lieutenants are the representatives of the Crown for each county in the United Kingdom.
They are chosen by The Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and may be peers or commoners.
Lord Lieutenants were at first selected as part of the restructuring of local Government during King Henry VIII’s reign. The plan was for those chosen to take over the military obligations of the Sheriff and manage the military forces of the Crown.
They were given full control of the military forces of the Crown in 1662. The Forces Act of 1871 moved this role back to the Crown.

The Lord Lieutenant is a prominent position in the county and as The Queen’s representative is in charge of the organization of Royal visits to their respectful counties. The Lord Lieutenant attends a Royal visit unless there are some means that do not allow them to do such. When such a case arises they are not available, then the Vice-Lieutenant or a Deputy Lieutenant will represent them.
The Lord Lieutenant also recommends those for appointment as Justices of the Peace by the Lord Chancellor. They also carry out duties in their county such as awarding the Queen’s Scout and Queen’s Guide Awards as well as the British Empire Medals.
There is a retirement age of seventy-five for the Lord Lieutenant.
No longer do they wear the full dress uniform of a cocked hat and scarlet tunic, but that of a military type navy blue uniform with scarlet stripes on the trousers and a scarlet band around their cap.
Royal Family connection: The Hon. Mrs Elizabeth Shân Legge-Bourke is Lord Lieutenant of Powys, the largest county in Wales by land area. The name may sound familiar, as she is the Mother of Tiggy Legge-Bourke (now Tiggy Pettifer) the former nanny to Princes William and Harry.
Photo Credit: West Midlands Police via photopin cc]]>