Sir Julian Loyd
Land agent at Sandringham
BORN MAY 25, 1926 DIED FEBRUARY 7, 2018 AGED 91
SIR Julian Loyd managed Sandringham, the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk from 1964 to 1991.
The estate comprises a staggering 20,100 acres, in which there are six villages, 3,200 acres farmed by the Queen, 11,890 tenant farmer acres, 450 acres let to smallholders, 117 acres devoted to fruit, and 243 acres for a thoroughbred stud.
Sir Julian was also in charge of beef production, with the estate having three 50-strong herds of Blue Grey cattle and two of Herefords and Friesians.
Sir Julian was also responsible for the 530-acre Country Park, which opened parts of the estate to the public, as well as four museums displaying royal cars, big game trophies and horse racing-related memorabilia.
Loyd reported to the Duke of Edinburgh every month and met him twice a year. He was responsible for major refurbishments to Sandringham House, getting rid of 91 rooms and installing 18 newly-built, more manageable ones.
Julian St John Loyd was born in Farnham, the only son of General Sir Charles “Budget” Loyd and Lady Moyra Brodrick. He was sent to Eton, then read estate management at Magdalene College, Cambridge, before a stint in his father’s regiment, the Coldstream Guards.
He joined Savills, first in Wimborne and later in Norwich, became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 1955 and was a partner from that year until 1964.
Sir Julian became a deputy lieutenant for Norfolk in 1983 and then the chairman of the King’s Lynn and Wisbech NHS Trust.
The Queen visited both hospitals. In 1960 he married Mary Emma Steel. They had two sons and two daughters, one of whom, Alexandra, was a childhood friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, and later her lady-in-waiting.