General Thomas Garth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Garth_(General)

An equerry (/ɪˈkwɛri, ˈɛkwəri/; from French écurie 'stable', and related to écuyer 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a sovereign, a member of a royal family, or a national representative. The role is equivalent to an aide-de-camp, but the term is now prevalent only in the Commonwealth of Nations.

General Thomas Garth (1744–1829) was a British Army officer and chief equerry to King George III of the United Kingdom.

He was the son of John Garth MP, and Rebecca, daughter of John Brompton and grand-daughter of Sir Richard Raynsford, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

He is believed to have been the father of an illegitimate child born in 1800, also called Thomas, whose mother was rumored to be Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom, one of the King's daughters. The assumption that she was the mother is challenged by Anthony Camp in Royal Mistresses and Bastards (London, 2007, pages 313–23).

Garth rented Ilsington House at Puddletown, which was often visited by the royal family en route for Weymouth.

New Zealand equerries are appointed to serve the King of New Zealand only for the duration of a royal visit to the country, and are always drawn from the officers of the New Zealand Defence Force, typically captains, flight lieutenants, and navy lieutenants.

Squadron Leader Leanne Woon of the Operational Support Squadron, part of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, was the equerry to the Queen of New Zealand during the most recent royal visit in 2002. She is the only woman to serve as an equerry to the monarch anywhere in the Commonwealth.[3] Captain Sam Stevenson of the New Zealand Army served as equerry to the Duke of Cambridge during his 2005 visit to New Zealand.[4] Squadron Leader Marcel 'Shagga' Scott of the Royal New Zealand Air Force served as equerry to HRH Prince Charles in November 2012. Squadron Leader Tim Costley of the Royal New Zealand Air Force served as equerry to the Duke of Cambridge during the 2014 Royal visit to New Zealand by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George.