Lieutenant-Commander Sir Richard Buckley, Naval officer who served as private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Kent for nearly three decades – obituary

Lieutenant-Commander Sir Richard Buckley, who has died on his 94th birthday, was private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Kent from 1961 to 1989. He went to work for the Kents shortly after their marriage, and oversaw the Duke’s transfer from Army life to his work as an overseas trade ambassador. He travelled widely with the Duke, who relied on him for his sound advice over many years.

Peter Richard Buckley was born on January 31 1928, the second son of Alfred Buckley, head of the mathematical department at Wellington College. Young Richard was educated there before joining the Royal Navy as a special entry cadet in September 1945; he was up for the King’s Telescope at the end of his training.

He specialised in Torpedo and Anti-Submarine Warfare and later, while a Divisional Officer at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1958, he met and married Tessa Neve. Eyesight became a problem, which came to light on the Naval Staff Course, and he was invalided out in 1961.

He suddenly found himself with a wife, a baby, and indeed a dog, but no home and no career. He cast about and was offered a job at the specialist printers De La Rue, but then the Admiralty asked him if he might consider working for the Duke of Kent.

When he was a bachelor, the Duke’s working life had been overseen by Sir Philip Hay, Princess Marina’s private secretary, but as the Duke had recently married and was taking over the family home, Coppins, near Iver, he needed his own office. Buckley sought advice and the consensus was that he would be mad not to accept.

He was appointed in October 1961. His first duty was to accompany the Kents to the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall that November. He lived in Coppins Cottages, opposite the Coppins estate, which was his home for the rest of his life.

His duties involved running the Duke’s office and attending him on his engagements, which included state visits, overseas tours, Independence ceremonies (such as Uganda in 1962, The Gambia in 1965, and Guyana and Barbados in 1966), the Coronation of the King of Tonga in 1967, and a major tour of Australia in 1969, representing him at numerous memorial services, and liaising with his charities.

He also accompanied the Duchess of Kent on solo engagements, variously to Leeds University, and even fashion shows, while the Duke was stationed overseas. In 1968, when the Duke laid the Queen’s wreath at the Cenotaph, Buckley laid the Duke’s wreath. Sometimes he played a more prominent role, as when he was best man to Commander Peter Campbell at his wedding in Northern Ireland to Lady Moyra Hamilton, at which Princess Marina and her family were all guests.

There were adventures along the way, as when the Governor’s motor launch sank in the Gambia, and Buckley had to organise a cruiser. He enjoyed the singing of Diana Ross and the Supremes in Barbados, with the moon shining on the water, and camping on the seashore below Gallipoli on a Commonwealth War Graves visit to Turkey.

There was a notable hiatus in 1971 when the Duke telephoned him to say that his squadron was being sent at a moment’s notice to Northern Ireland, then in the early stages of the Troubles. Buckley immediately saw the inherent dangers and reported this to the Palace.

Neither the Queen, nor Lord Carrington, the Defence Secretary, were aware of this posting. The Duke’s squadron was recalled to Edinburgh, a general later telling Buckley that not only was there the danger of the Duke being killed, but also of the grave political implications that could have resulted if the Duke had to order his squadron to fire on British citizens.

The Duke gradually undertook more royal duties, especially after he retired from the Army in 1976. Buckley was instrumental in steering him towards the British Overseas Trade Board – he had detected the Duke’s growing interest in electronics and overseas trade. The appointment was cleared with Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. This led to involvement with Concorde and considerable overseas travel.

Buckley ran a small but busy office, which dealt with official finance and the press and handled some 300 engagements each year, in this country and abroad. Buckley had a firm belief in the unique importance of the Royal family and that he was in a privileged position, to which he brought loyalty and a great sense of duty. One of the aims was to ensure that everyone enjoyed these events. He used to say: “We are in the happiness business.”

Buckley became a Freemason when the Duke took on the active role of Grand Master of English Freemasons in 1967 and was involved over time in the changes and involvement of that great institution.

Buckley was advanced from MVO in 1968, to CVO in 1973, and knighted KCVO in 1982. He retired in 1989, later serving as Extra Equerry, and took a job with Malcolm McIntyre Consultancy from 1989 to 1992. He was a consultant of Vickers International from 1981 to 1989.

It was his great joy to become a governor of Wellington College and chairman of the governors of his prep school, Eagle House. He was a founder member of the Old Wellingtonian Sailing Association. He served as a trustee and chair of two charities, including the RNLI (Fulham Branch). He sang in a local choral society, which led to singing with the Windsor and Eton Choral Society. He was appointed a Fellow of the RGS in 1999.

Recreationally, he loved sailing and was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. As an honorary member of the All England Tennis Club he was able to pursue his love for tennis. He also loved bee-keeping, but fishing was his greatest lifelong pleasure.

His wife Tessa survives him with his two sons and one daughter.

Richard Buckley, born January 31 1928, died January 31 2022