Name William Nye | Role Courtier | |
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Education Yale University, Christ's Hospital, University of Cambridge | ||
William James Nye, LVO (born 28 March 1966) is a British courtier and civil servant. Since November 2015, he has been Secretary-General of the Archbishops' Council and Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Principal Private Secretary to Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
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Early life and education
Nye was born on 28 March 1966 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, an independent boarding school in Horsham, Sussex. He studied economics at Clare College, Cambridge, and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1987. He then studied economics at Yale University in the United States, and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1989.
Career
After university, he joined the British Civil Service, and came to hold a number of senior appointments at the Home Office and the Treasury, his last being that of Director in the National Security Secretariat at the Cabinet Office.
Nye succeeded Sir Michael Peat as Principal Private Secretary to Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (Peat's resignation was announced on 24 January 2011). He took up the appointment on 12 September 2011. In November of that year, it was reported that Nye would not be given the use of the Kensington Palace apartment that Peat vacated, nor would Nye be provided grace-and-favour housing of any kind. He "has overall responsibility for the Prince’s household and also keeps an eye on the running of the Duchy of Cornwall, his private estate, and his residences at Highgrove and Birkhall." Nye also serves as a trustee of The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.
On 10 June 2015 it was announced that he would stand down from his role as Private Secretary to Their Royal Highnesses at the end of November 2015 and become the next Secretary-General of the Archbishops' Council and Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England.
Personal life
In 2006, Nye married Katherine Bartlett. Together they have one daughter.
Nye is a Christian and a member of the Church of England. As of 2015, he has served on the parochial church council (PCC) of his local church for almost 20 years and has been a churchwarden for ten years.
Honours
In the 2015 New Year Honours, Nye was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in recognition of his service as "Principal Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall".