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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

9th September 2013

Six Royals and 007: Memorial Service for Princess Lilian

I wrote in this space in March about the funeral of Princess Lilian of Sweden, and noted that we planned to organize a memorial service later in the year at the English Church.

The service took place yesterday. It was a memorable event for all of us at the Embassy and in the English church involved in organizing it. I’m including below the report I’ve just sent back to London about it:

  1. A memorial service for Princess Lilian was held at the English Church opposite the Residence on 8 September, in glorious late summer sunshine.
  2. The whole of the immediate Swedish Royal Family attended the service, to celebrate the life of the woman from Wales, who married the King’s uncle and died in March, aged 96.
  3. Recollections of her life were given by her god-daughter, by a former Palace official who wrote a book with her and by Sir Roger Moore, a friend over many years. The Crown Princess, a local parishioner and I read poems of love and friendship.
  4. Young musicians played and sung Charles Trenet’s La Mer, written in 1943 the year Lilian met Prince Bertil, and celebrating the Mediterranean where they lived for many years.
  5. The organist played Handel’s arrivial of the Queen of Sheba as a tribute to Lilian’s sense of humour. When her future husband had introduced himself in a London night club, saying “I’m Prince Bertil of Sweden”, the young fashion model had replied “and I’m the Queen of Sheba!”.”
  6. The Royal Family, her own family and friends and the British community here turned out in force to celebrate the last of three British-born princesses of Sweden in the last 100 years.
  7. Coincidentally, but appropriately, the King’s younger daughter, Princess Madeleine, who married a Briton, Christopher O’Neill in June, announced this week that she is expecting their first child next Spring.

About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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