Personality Profile
Centuries ago, the Lord Warden held in his hands the most enormous power as protector of the British frontline against invasion and commander of the trade routes. Today, it is an accolade only bestowed on the highest and mightiest of the country’s former public servants.
“I have to confess that I didn’t know a lot about the role, but it was obvious that it was very special, given my predecessors.”
The Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother all held the honour before him. The official way to address a man who is not only a peer, a knight and former top naval officer is “Admiral, the Lord Boyce”, but with a disarmingly kind smile, he says: “Of course you can call me Mike.”
Earlier, as we sat in the private quarters tucked away in the castle’s interior, it is soon apparent he is a walking encyclopaedia of Lord Warden and Cinque Port facts, anecdotes and lore. Once a powerful and wealth-making position – William Pitt the Younger made a phenomenal £1,500 per year between the very late 18th and early 19th centuries – the role today is very much speeches, ceremonies and ribbon cutting. The former Chief of the Defence
Staff (the highest ranking professional serviceman in the land) jokes: “I don’t have
the power, the influence or the money that Pitt enjoyed! But it was a very great honour to have been asked to do it.
“I had a busy couple of years invading
Iraq and Afghanistan and then in 2004 a letter dropped in from the Prime Minister (Tony Blair) saying that the Queen had this particular appointment in mind. “I have to confess that I didn’t know a lot about the role, but it was obvious that it was very special, given my predecessors.” There had been much speculation in the local media about who might succeed the Queen Mother, who relinquished the title on her death in 2002. Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton were two names which ultimately did not make the final cut. One British public figure, it was rumoured, was deemed “thoroughly unsuitable”. Lord Boyce’s appointment was announced in 2004 but he was not installed until the following year in the grounds of Dover College on a sunny summer’s day full of pomp and pageantry.
His then companion – and the following year, wife – Fleur rode alongside him in the back of a classic car bedecked in a splendid floral summer dress and wide brimmed hat. Handsome and chiselled as Lord Boyce undoubtedly is, many eyes were drawn that day to the vivacious woman who meant so much to him. Fleur was his rock, his companion and confidante through many happy summers after the grand installation.
Her untimely death in 2016, aged just 67,
has evidently left an enormous void in an otherwise busy life.
“It’s obviously quite lonely,” says Lord Boyce, his voice tailing off and falling quiet. Momentarily, he looks vulnerable, perhaps haunted by a memory.
“It was a terrible shock when she went.” Fleur suddenly felt unwell and not long after the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, she succumbed. In a sharp but tender moment, Lord Boyce describes the time in a single word - “horrific”.
People who met or dealt with the couple remember an engaging and popular person whose smile could light up any event. She would inevitably outshine her husband. Fleur was the widow of a fellow submariner, who had also been a friend to Lord Boyce, and understood the life both men led. “She was a great supporter and was also a lot more popular than I was,” he laughs. And there are so many happy memories,
Lord Boyce enjoys a friendly rapport with the staff and volunteers at Walmer Castle and they are people he clearly respects.
Te Lord Warden, pictured here with English Heritage property supervisor Sally Mewton-Hynds, takes a keen interest in the castle’s upkeep and history. Sally says that, in the past two decades, the number of visitors has risen from around 20,000 annual visitors to more than 100,000 last year. Walmer Castle was built in 1540 as part of Henry Vlll’s chain of coastal defences. During the Civil War, it was in the hands of the Parliamentarians and was later used to protect shipping during the Dutch Wars in the 1650s and 1660s. In 1708, it became the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
8 Mid Kent Living
not least of him being “dragged out of bed” to go for a swim in the sea off Walmer early in the morning. Fleur had also been a major influence in the modernisation and redecoration of the private apartments at the castle.
Te walls, doors and bannisters are painted a tasteful shade of chalky green.
Te Lord Warden’s private apartment has six bedrooms – some of which hide behind nondescript doors on a winding staircase
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