Sir Victor George Corkran KCVO (26 June 1873 – 10 March 1934) was a British courtier who served in the household of Princess Beatrice for 25 years.

Early life

Corkran was born on 26 June 1873. He was the second son of Col. Charles Seymour Corkran, a commander of a battalion of the Grenadier Guards,^[1] and Florence Caroline Peel of Pirbright, Chipstead.^[2] Among his siblings were Maj.-Gen. Sir Charles Corkran and Violet Maud Corkran (wife of Sir Walter Farquhar, 5th Baronet) among others.^[3]

His paternal grandparents were Charles Corkran and Georgina Isabella (née Seymour) Corkran (a daughter of Admiral Sir George Seymour, himself a grandson of the 1st Marquess of Hertford). His maternal grandparents were Sir Charles Lennox Peel and Hon. Caroline Georgiana Chichester (a daughter of the 1st Baron Templemore).^[3]

He was educated at Farnborough and Eton College.^[4]

Career

From 1893 to 1894, he served as Assistant Private Secretary to Sir William Harcourt, Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[5] From 1895 to 1899, he served as Assistant Private Secretary to George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan before serving for about a year as Private Secretary to William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (who also attended Eton), when he was the Governor of New South Wales.^[5]

From 1900 to 1903, Corkran was Private Secretary to Lord Cadogan while he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.^[6] After Arthur Balfour came to power, Lord Cadogan was replaced by William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, and Corkran continued in his role as well as Comptroller of the Household until 1906, where "he proved his business and social capacity in a way that ensured him a great popularity."^[7]

Royal service

In 1907, Corkran served as Gentleman-in-waiting to Princess Beatrice (the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) while in Spain where Beatrice's daughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie, had become Queen in 1906 upon her marriage to King Alfonso XIII. Princess Beatrice was the widow of Prince Henry of Battenberg, who contracted malaria and died aboard HMS Blonde off the coast of Sierra Leone in 1896. Corkran was appointed her permanent Equerry in 1908, succeeding Col. F. L. Colborne (who became Extra Equerry), accompanying her to official events.^[8][9] In London, Princess Beatrice lived at Kensington Palace, and on the Isle of Wight, she inherited Osborne Cottage near Kent House (the home of her sister, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll), both on the grounds of Osborne House.^[10] In 1909, he became her Comptroller and Treasurer of the Household, succeeding Lord William Cecil.^[7] Corkran served in those roles until his retirement in 1932.^[3] In this role, he represented her at official functions when she was unable to attend, including at the funeral of Princess Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in 1912.^[11]

He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order,^[12] before being raised to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.^[4]

Personal life

On 2 December 1913, Corkran was married to Hon. Hilda Caroline Chichester (1875–1961) at St Margaret's, Westminster by Corkran's cousin, the Rev. Lord Victor Seymour (youngest son of the 5th Marquess of Hertford).^[12] The ceremony was attended by Princess Beatrice, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, and Prince Alexander of Teck.^[2] Hilda, who was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Beatrice,^[5] was the youngest daughter of Harry Chichester, 2nd Baron Templemore and Lady Victoria Ashley-Cooper (eldest daughter the philanthropist Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury).^[1] Together, they were the parents of a daughter: Beatrice Mary Lettice Corkran (c. 1917–2004),^[3][13]

Sir Victor died in London on 10 March 1934 at age 60.^[4] His widow, Lady Corkran, died in Bath in 1961.^[14]