Masters of the Bench

Lord Parker grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, attended a local comprehensive school, then Churchill College, Cambridge. He served in the Security Service (MI5) from 1983 to 2020, latterly as the Director General, leading MI5 through a period of intense terrorism and state threats. Lord Parker was appointed Lord Chamberlain in 2021 and has led the Royal Household through the death and funeral of Prince Philip, the Platinum Jubilee, the death and funeral of The Late Queen Elizabeth, the Accession of HM King Charles III, and Coronation in 2023. Lord Parker is a Life Peer (Cross Bench), member of the Privy Council, a Non Executive Director on the board of Babcock International Group, Visiting Professor at Northumbria University's Law School, Board Adviser to a small technology company, Distinguished Fellow of RUSI, and Honorary Bencher at Middle Temple. Decorations: GCVO, KCB, Legion d'Honneur, Grand Cross of Order of Merit (Portugal), Medal of Honour (Estonia).