First female equerry to the King is former aide to Sunak
Capt Kat Anderson assumes royal role after work at heart of Downing Street
THE King has appointed a former aide to Rishi Sunak as the first female equerry to a sovereign.
Capt Kat Anderson, 33, an officer with the Royal Artillery, will accompany the King, 75, on official duties and overseas tours.
She joined his team last month on secondment from 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, where she worked as the Prime Minister’s aide-de-camp and assistant private secretary to national security advisers Sir Stephen Lovegrove and Sir Tim Barrow.
As an assistant equerry, she will become the “eyes and ears” of the King, who interviewed her for the position personally, according to reports.
Equerries are appointed from the Armed Forces by senior working members of the Royal family and usually hold the position for about three years.
Capt Anderson will work alongside the King’s new equerry, Lt-cdr Will Thornton, 37, a Royal Navy helicopter pilot.
Lt-cdr Thornton replaces Lt Col Johnny Thompson, who was promoted to the role of “senior equerry” last autumn. The 40-year-old, who has turned heads in his kilt and achieved something of a cult social media following, will now help organise the monarch’s private affairs behind the scenes.
The father of one, who serves with the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, was photographed this weekend with his girlfriend, Olivia Lewis, 33, a PR executive, almost two years after separating from his wife. The decision to extend Lt Col Thompsons’s secondment from the Army was considered an indication of how highly valued he had become within the Royal household.
The appointment of Lt-cdr Thornton as his successor marks a break from tradition, because each service usually takes its turn to provide an officer. Lt Col Thomson’s predecessor was Maj Tom White, a Royal Marines officer and Afghanistan veteran, meaning if the same pattern had been followed, the new appointment would have been from the RAF.
The King’s other assistant equerry is Capt Hugh Scrope, 27, of the Coldstream Guards, who was appointed in 2022.
The King is no stranger to appointing female equerries. As Prince of Wales, in 2006 he was served by Sqn Ldr Jayne Casebury. The Duke of York also worked with two female equerries, Sqd Ldr Charlotte Fenn of the RAF, a former Red Arrows engineer, and Lt Caroline Clark of the Royal Navy, before stepping down from public duties.
As an assistant equerry, she will become the King’s “eyes and ears”