Richard Luce, Baron Luce

Richard Napier Luce, Baron Luce, KG, GCVO, PC, DL (born 14 October 1936) was Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II from 2000 to 2006, and was previously Governor of Gibraltar and a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) and government minister.

He was educated at Wellington College, and Christ's College, University of Cambridge. He completed National Service in Cyprus 1955-57. He then briefly joined the Overseas Civil Service, first as a district officer in Kenya, 1960-62. He then worked for Gallaher Ltd as a brand manager (1963-65), before becoming marketing manager for the Spirella Company of Great Britain. In 1968-71 he was director of the National Innovation Centre.

From 1972 to 1979, he was Chairman of IFA Consultants Ltd, he was also chair of Selenex Ltd (1973-79), and of Courtenay Stewart International (1975-79).

Luce has two sons, Alexander Luce and Edward Luce.

Political career

Richard Luce was first elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and Shoreham in a by-election in 1971. When that constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the February 1974 general election, he was returned for the new Shoreham constituency. He retired from the Commons at the 1992 general election.

In parliament

Luce was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Trade and Consumer Affairs in 1972. After the Conservative Party lost the February 1974 general election, he became an Opposition whip.

When the Conservatives returned to power at the 1979 general election, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 1981, he was promoted to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs within the same department. In 1982, he followed his Secretary of State, Lord Carrington, in resigning over the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands. Some blamed Luce for having given the wrong indications to the Argentinians, leading them to believe that the UK would not respond to the invasion. However he returned to office in 1983, again as a Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 1985, he was moved to the Privy Council Office as Minister for the Arts, which was his last ministerial office. He resigned in 1990.

He had been knighted in 1991, and was made a Privy Counsellor in 1986.

After the Commons

Sir Richard Luce was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham between 1992-96. In 1997, he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar, an office he held until 2000, when he was created a Life Peer as Baron Luce, of Adur in the County of West Sussex, GCVO and became Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, the senior official of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.

He was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter on 22 April, 2008.

Lord Luce relinquished the post of Lord Chamberlain on 11 October 2006. He was succeeded by William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel.

In popular culture

Luce was portrayed by Jonathan Coy in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial "The Falklands Play".

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title = Member of Parliament for Arundel and Shoreham
years = 1971–1974
before = Henry Briton Kerby
after = "(constituency abolished)"succession box
title = Member of Parliament for Shoreham
years = 1974–1992
before = "(new constituency)"
after = Michael Stephen