New Lord Prior for the Order of St John

Publication date 03 January 2019

On 3 January 2019 it was announced that Her Majesty The Queen had approved the appointment of Professor Mark Compton as the next Lord Prior of the Order of St John.

He will succeed Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Walter Hugh Malcolm Ross GCVO OBE GCStJ when his present term as Lord Prior comes to an end in June 2019.

Sir Malcolm was a Priory of Scotland member, and a past Prior of Scotland. He has been a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom since 1987, and since 2006 of the household of Prince Charles.

He was made an OBE in 1988, and joined the Royal Victorian Order in 1994 as a CVO. He was knighted as a KCVO in 1999, and advanced to GCVO in 2005.

He was appointed GCStJ in 2016, becoming a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John.

In 2006, he was made Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright.

Sir Malcom Ross was appointed Lord Prior of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in September 2016.

Photo of Sir Malcolm Ross

His successor, Professor Mark Compton, will be unique amongst Lords Prior being the only one having been a member of St John continuously since joining as a cadet. He has almost 45 years of service with St John, was a Grand Prior Cadet and is currently national chairman and Chancellor of the Order of St John in Australia.

In addition to his board role he has regularly volunteered at a uniformed operational level, has mentored developing leaders through the national leadership and women's mentoring programs and contributes to international strategy development for the worldwide organisation through his membership of the international board of St John.

Mark will become Lord Prior on St John Day (June 24) 2019. With a presence in over 30 countries and with over 250,000 people involved, the Lord Prior will work with leaders across the St John world to set the direction for the Order as it enters the second decade of the 21st century.

Photo of Professor Mark Compton