The Honourable Sir Gerald Henry Crofton ChichesterKCVO (22 June 1886 – 8 October 1939) was a British diplomat and courtier of Anglo-Irish descent who served as Private Secretary to Queen Mary.
Chichester "was reputed to have the most perfect manners of any British diplomat who served in Paris as well as a French accent that many Parisians could envy. In Paris he was referred to as 'Le Beau Anglais.'"[6]
In 1926, he became Assistant Private Secretary to Queen Mary, becoming her Private Secretary in 1935 after the retirement of Sir Harry Lloyd Verney. His aunt, Lady Bertha Dawkins, had served as a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary. He served in this capacity until his death in 1939.[7] He was also a Groom-in-Waiting to King George V from 1931 until his death in January 1936.[3] In 1932, he met with Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling and her husband, Rudyard Kipling, who was in London to go over a speech he wrote for the King for Christmas Day.[8]
"Always immaculately dressed,"[6] Chichester, who never married, owned a farmhouse in Surrey where "he created a beautiful home, and there he gathered his friends, mostly drawn from the world of art and music, of which he had a deep and intelligent appreciation."[5] In London, he resided at 15 Bryanston Square in Marylebone.[9]
After becoming ill in May 1938, Sir Gerald died at Tifters Farm, Charlwood, on 8 October 1939.[6] His funeral was held at the Charlwood Parish Church before he was cremated. "The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr. Thomas Wickens, jnr., Charlwood."[5]