By Fran Gillespie/Doha
A meeting of the Qatar-British Business Forum was held at the Radisson Blu hotel yesterday at which visiting businessman Sir Malcolm Ross was welcomed by QBBF chairman Emad Turkman as the guest speaker after lunch.
Now the non-executive chairman of Westminster Group TLC and on his first visit to Qatar, Sir Malcolm has enjoyed a distinguished career, first in the British army where he reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and later as Controller of The Queen’s Household from 1987–2005 and Master of the Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall from 2005–2008.
In his first appointment he was responsible for all state occasions, protocol, ceremonial and major royal events in the UK.
Later he handled the domestic arrangements for Prince Charles.
Sir Malcolm said that during his career he had undertaken the organisation of no fewer than 36 state visits, including those of Russian and American presidents, and royals, sheikhs and sultans from around the globe.
Her Majesty the Queen, he said, likes state visitors to enjoy themselves as well as carrying out their official duties, so one of his tasks was to find out the personal interests of the visiting VIP and arrange a tailor-made programme for them.
The most charming, courteous and apparently indefatigable visitor of all was, he said, Nelson Mandela.
As well as state visits Sir Malcolm was also responsible for arranging royal weddings and state funerals, and he recounted several amusing stories of moments during his career when, despite careful planning, things went unexpectedly wrong.
Having worked for the Queen for so many years, Sir Malcolm said that he had always found her approachable, calm, wise and immensely knowledgeable. She had learnt much from her father, King George VI, before his premature death, and often quoted him. She also has a great sense of humour.
Now that Her Majesty has reached the age of 87 there has been some speculation, he said, as to whether she would abdicate in favour of either Prince Charles or her grandson Prince William. Sir Malcolm said that he believed that the Queen would never consider abdicating unless physically or mentally incapacitated.
Prince Charles is, he said, the oldest heir to the throne Britain has seen since 1714, and he works extremely hard at his many duties, including standing as the patron of 370 charities.
The Prince’s views on the environment, organic farming and urban development have been ridiculed by many as cranky, but increasingly it is becoming apparent that far from being eccentric they are now far-sighted.
“Prince William’s marriage,” he concluded, “is a guarantee that the monarchy will continue well into the future. He is the first royal heir to marry a commoner, and has helped to bring the monarchy closer to the modern world.”
Sir Malcolm Ross PICTURE: David Gillespie
