Colin Richard Keppel Admiral Sir Colin Richard Keppel GCVO , KCIE , CB , DSO ( 3 December 1862 – 6 July 1947 ) was a British sailor and Extra Equerry to four kings . Background . He was the son of Admiral Sir Henry Keppel , younger son of William Keppel , 4th Earl of Albemarle , and his second wife Jane Elizabeth West , daughter of Martin John West . His paternal uncles were Augustus Keppel , 5th Earl of Albemarle and George Keppel , 6th Earl of Albemarle , his maternal uncle was Sir Algernon Edward West . He was educated at Temple Grove and entered the Royal Navy as cadet on the training ship HMS " Britannia " in 1875 . Naval career . Early years . Keppel served on HMS " Sultan " in the British Mediterranean Fleet until 1878 and was then transferred as midshipman to HMS " Black Prince " , the world ' s second ship with an iron hull . He was aboard on HMS " Wolverine " in Sydney in the next year and was with HMS " Inconstant " in Asia unil 1882 . With the outburst of the Mahdist War , he was moved to HMS " Duke of Wellington " , the Commander - in - Chief ' s flagship in Portsmouth , then to HMS " Iris " , one of the first all steel ships , until 1884 . Subsequently , Keppel was promoted sub - lieutenant of HMS " Invincible " . He served further on HMS " Hibernia " and became lieutenant on HMS " Alexandria " in 1885 . A year later , Keppel was appointed equerry and flag lieutenant to Alfred , Duke of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha until 1893 and was then transferred to HMS " Pearl " . He was with HMY " Royal George " in Portsmouth until 1895 , became afterwards commander and sailed with HMS " Skipjack " to Gibraltar and with the torpedo gunboat " HMS Harrier " to Crete in 1897 . On the Nile . In October of that year , on loan to the Egyptian Government , he commanded three gunboats on the Nile , which were despatched from the town of Berber , Sudan , recently captured by British forces commanded by Herbert Kitchener , south to attack Metemma , Sudan , which was held by Dervishes . At dawn on 16 October the ships attacked enemy troops at Shendi , before shelling three forts on the bank of the Nile near Metamma , capturing some ships loaded with grain and then retiring . They returned the following day to discover the defences had been reinforced with more artillery , but continued the bombardment from beyond range of the enemy guns . Estimated Arab losses were 500 men , with one Soudanese soldier being killed on one of the gunboats . Soon afterwards in the beginning of 1898 , Keppel was as result awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath and decorated with the Distinguished Service Order . Admiral . For his services in Sudan , he received the thanks of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in June 1899 and became captain commanding HMS " Wildfire " . Keppel was transferred to HMS " Spartan " in the same year and to newly launched cruiser in 1900 . He commanded subsequently HMS " Warspite " and was then flag captain to Andrew Bickford aboard on HMS " Grafton " until 1904 . In the next year , he commanded the battleship HMS " Implacable " and was appointed commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron . Keppel was awarded a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order , in 1906 and after being promoted to rear - admiral in 1908 , he was advanced to a Knight Commander . He became second in command of the British Atlantic Fleet in 1909 and was first on HMS " Albemarle " , later on HMS " London " . In 1911 , he led RMS " Medina " on a voyage to India and was afterwards invested a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire . Keppel was promoted vice - admiral in 1913 , retiring few days later . He was made a full admiral in 1917 . Keppel received the 1st Class of the Russian Order of St Stanislaus and the 2nd Class of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle . Further career . Keppel served as Aide - de - Camp to King Edward VII from 1907 until the following year and as Extra Equerry from 1909 . After the king ' s death in 1910 , Keppel was Extra Equerry to his successor King George V until 1912 . Keppel was nominated Equerry - in - Ordinary in 1913 , fulfilling this office for two years until his relinquishment in 1915 , when he was again appointed Extra Equerry . Subsequently he held this post also to King Edward VIII and King George VI until 1937 . Keppel became Serjeant - at - Arms of the British House of Commons in 1915 , resigning after twenty years . In 1929 , he was awarded the Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order . Family . On 6 June 1889 , he married Mary Blundell - Hollinshead - Blundell , daughter of Major - General Richard Blundell - Hollinshead - Blundell , and had by her two daughters . Marie , the older , was wife of Charles Marsham , 6th Earl of Romney , while her younger sister Melita had married Maurice Hely - Hutchinson . Keppel died at his country residence , Grove Lodge , at Winkfield Row in Berkshire , aged 84 in 1947 , his wife ten years later .