Major General Benjamin Bathurst CBE Portrait Sitting

Major General Benjamin Bathurst CBE Portrait Sitting (Rory Lewis Photographer 2019)

The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division of the British Army. He is also General Officer Commanding London District. The Major- General has sole responsibility for the Service aspect of all State and ceremonial occasions within London District, having executive command of the Household Division and of any other units brought into London for ceremonial purposes and is the main channel of communication between the Household Division and the Monarch. He or she is appointed by The Queen, and will previously have commanded a Regiment or Battalion within the Household Division.

Major General Benjamin Bathurst CBE Portrait Sitting (Rory Lewis Photographer 2019)

Major General Benjamin Bathurst CBE Portrait Sitting (Rory Lewis Photographer 2019)

The incumbent Major General Benjamin Bathurst CBE of the Welsh Guards, now occupies the role. The sitting took place at Horse Guards London. In the historic office, the Duke of Wellington once occupied, now used by the Major General of the Household Division. I couldn’t resist but to capture a portrait of Bathurst, sitting behind the desk once belonging to the Iron Duke.

It is known that the desk itself has been in the office of the Major- General since the late 1700s when the room was once known as the Courts Martial Room and then the Levee Room. It became the sole office of the Commander in Chief of the British Army sometime in the early 19th century. The desk itself was commissioned and purchased by Frederick Duke of York the second son of King George III, a truly historic sitting.