FARRER, Sir (Charles) Matthew GCVO 1929-2023
Richard R
He was s of Sir (Walter) Leslie FARRER KCVO 1900-84 scion of that gentry family of Ingleborough and sometime Private Solicitor to King GEORGE VI and Queen ELIZABETH II and Hon Marjorie Laura POLLOCK 1895-1981 d of 1st Viscount HANWORTH 1861-1936 and Laura Helen 1865-1954 d of Sir Thomas SALT 1st Bt 1830-1904 and Emma Helen Mary c1840-1925 d of John Lavicourt ANDERDON 1792-1874 scion of that gentry family of Henlade House and Anna Marie c1796-1880 d of William MANNING MP 1763-1835 (f of Cardinal Manning 1808-92) and his 2nd w Mary 1771-1847 d of Henry Leroy HUNTER (barrister). He m 1962 Johanna Creszentia Maria Dorothea d of Hans Hermann BENNHOLD of Tübingen, Germany, and had a son and a dau as above.
1. Luke Leslie b 22 July 1970 m c2003 (eng Times 20 Jan) Sara C d of James LANDIS of Exeter, New Hampshire
1. Jenett Mabella b 14 Oct 1965
colinp
Sir Matthew Farrer, private solicitor who advised Queen Elizabeth II on Royal divorces – obituary
He helped make arrangements after the Queen volunteered to pay income tax and gained international personalities as clients
Sir Matthew Farrer, who has died aged 93, was private solicitor to Queen Elizabeth II from 1965 to 1994.
Charles Matthew Farrer was born on December 3 1929, the son of Sir Leslie Farrer, who had also been private solicitor to the Queen, and his wife Marjorie, née Pollock…..
In 1959 he became a partner in the family firm, Messrs Farrer & Co, its offices located in the most elegant building in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. In due course he became the senior partner.
As solicitor to the Queen he was called on to help and advise with the divorces of Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew and the Princess Royal, and also in connection with the separation and subsequent divorce of the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.
In 1993, after the Queen volunteered to pay income tax and capital gains tax, Farrer was deeply involved with the introduction of the new taxation regime, and with the transfer of management of many assets which had been the private property of the Queen – but in practice were regarded as Crown property – to the Royal Collections Trust.
Farrer was a master of all the legal issues involved and his natural humility and sense of humour meant that clients, including the Queen, felt entirely comfortable. He gave them complete confidence….
Farrer also served at various times as a trustee of the British Museum and of the Lambeth Palace Library. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, and of the British Library Board. He was president of the Selden Society from 2001 to 2003, and was a liveryman of the Fishmongers’ Company, becoming, in 2007, its Prime Warden, as his father had been.
He was appointed CVO in 1973, KCVO in 1983 and GCVO in 1994.
In 1962 he married Johanna Bennhold, who survives him with a son and a daughter.
Sir Matthew Farrer, born December 3 1929, died May 21 2023
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From the Times of 1 Aug 2023: FARRER Sir Matthew GCVO, a Service of Thanksgiving will be held at St Magnus the Martyr, EC3R 6DN, on 7th September 2023 at 2.30pm. Any donations in his memory to the CPF Trust…
Henry W
The King was represented by the Lord Bridges (former Solicitor to The late Queen) at the Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Matthew Farrer (former Solicitor to The late Queen) which was held in St. Magnus-the-Martyr, Lower Thames Street, London EC3, this afternoon.
The Princess Royal was represented by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.