Frederick Ponsonby

Born on 16 September 1867, Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby was a British soldier and courtier who later became the 1st Baron Sysonby. He was educated at Eton, served in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and then the Grenadier Guards, fought in the Second Boer War, and went on to serve during the First World War.

Alongside his military career, he spent decades in royal service. He was an equerry and private secretary in the orbit of Queen Victoria, then served King Edward VII and King George V, eventually becoming Keeper of the Privy Purse and later Lieutenant Governor of Windsor Castle. That long view across three reigns made him an unusually well-placed observer of British court life.

He also wrote about what he knew. His works include a major history of the Grenadier Guards in the First World War and the memoir Recollections of Three Reigns, published after his death in 1935. For readers interested in the inner workings of monarchy, empire, and military life, his perspective is both personal and historically rich.