John Michael Avison Parker , June 23, 1920 - December 29, 2001) was an Australian officer in Royal Navy (RN) officers, and as Personal Secretary for the Duke of Edinburgh between 1947 and 1957.
Video Michael Parker (courtier)
Early life and education
Parker was born in Melbourne on June 23, 1920. The son of Captain C. A. Parker, he was educated at Xavier College, Melbourne.
Maps Michael Parker (courtier)
Careers
Parker served on the Royal Australian Navy, and then Royal Navy, between 1938 and 1947, reached the rank of lieutenant commander. He fought at the Battle of Narvik, and later became First Lieutenant of HMS Lauderdale in 1942, then from HMS Wessex in the 27th Shield of the British Pacific Fleet.
Parker first met Prince Philip in 1942, when Philip was assigned to the destroyer of HMS Wallace as a sub-lieutenant. They became close friends. In 1947, Parker joined the Duke of Edinburgh Household as a Private Secretary, initially on a part-time basis. He also became Equeri to Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (Queen). Duke took Parker to "Thursday Club", an exclusive weekly lunch group.
In 1952, Parker was in Kenya with the royal couple and told them about the death of King George VI. Parker became the full-time Private Secretary for the Duke. Parker was created as a member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1953, and Commander (CVO) in 1957. He accompanied the Duke on a five-year world tour in 1956 on the HMY Britannia .
Parker's divorce in 1958, reported widely in the media, forced him to resign as Duke's Personal Secretary. He was successful in that role by James Orr. Parker kept in touch with Duke until the end of his life. Parker works for Lockheed Corporation builders and advertising agency Leo Burnett Worldwide. He returned to live in Australia in the late 1960s. He became chair of Australia's Dredging and Public Service, and is director of Spoerry Australia.
In 1996, he was appointed Member of the Order of Australia. He died in Melbourne, Australia in December 2001.
Personal life
Parker married Eileen Allan in 1943, with whom he had a son and a daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1958. Eileen wrote a 1982 book entitled Step Aside for Royalty where she claimed her husband and the Duke of Edinburgh used the pseudonym Murgatroyd and Winterbottom to "make a speech out of the palace." Parker denied the claim.
In 1962, Parker married Carol Thompson, with whom he had another daughter and son; the marriage was dissolved. In 1976, he married Jean Ramsay, who died in 2001.
In popular culture
Parker is described by Daniel Ings in the Netflix series The Crown .
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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