Home youtube Broadcaster & Commentator Consultant Author & Lecturer twitter Blog Contact Home youtube Broadcaster & Commentator Consultant Author & Lecturer twitter Blog Contact Home Broadcaster & Commentator Consultant Author & Lecturer twitter Blog Contact Home
 






As co-editor of the definitive guide to global honours, orders and awards, Rafe is consulted by various governments and his work has been quoted in official government reports reviewing the national honours systems in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Rafe continues to offer his services as an honours consultant. He possesses a wealth of international contacts and, in addition to policy matters, is also able to advise on all aspects of the design and creation process, including the manufacturing of insignia and the drafting of statutes.

In 2006, Rafe was a keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Conference on Honours & Awards, which brought together leading authorities from various Commonwealth jurisdictions. Rafe contributed two chapters to the resulting book, Honouring Commonwealth Citizens. In 2010, Rafe was asked to submit expert evidence and opinion to advise the Government of Canada in its review of the Canadian Honours System. His evidence was also quoted by the United Kingdom House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, during its review of the British Honours System.


 



Rafe is an established protocol and etiquette consultant with many years’ experience advising foreign royalty, aristocracy, the media, IGOs and government departments, corporate clients, private societies and individuals.

Rafe has appeared on Channel 4’s The Friday Night Project to judge the dining skills and deportment of pop star Lilly Allen; and he has also publicly crossed swords in The Times newspaper with current British Cabinet Minister Michael Gove MP over a matter of extreme sartorial importance: the appropriateness of wearing red socks!

As the grandson of both a Baron and a Princess, and with close family ties to Greece’s former ruling Papandreou dynasty, Rafe is extremely familiar with the world of protocol and etiquette. From formal state banquets to thank-you letters, Rafe has dealt with almost all protocol matters over the years: seating plan precedence, styles of address, dining etiquette, royal protocol, business etiquette (job interviews, business lunches, “dressing for success”, etc.), international etiquette (foreign customs and behaviours) and general social etiquette (letter writing, bereavements, weddings, mobile/cell phone etiquette).

Rafe has also organised numerous formal events, balls, ceremonies and “white tie” events for royalty and other dignitaries.



   
Rafe with Lord Lyon, King of Arms - the chief herald of Scotland, responsible for all Scottish State Ceremonial and the supreme authority on many Scottish protocol issues.   Rafe in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. participating in the promotion ceremony for a USAF Major.   Rafe and Lord Walker, the Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, at a wreath-laying ceremony and lunch organised by Rafe.


Blog

In 2007, soon after completing Burke’s World Orders of Knighthood & Merit (an important reference work used internationally by protocol officers), Rafe launched his popular blog, Reflections of a Young Fogey, a broad guide to etiquette, protocol, royal traditions and other esoterica. The blog soon attained a cult following and has become a popular resource for matters of protocol and correct form, yielding answers to such pressing questions as, 'What is the precedence among female members of the royal family?', 'What is the correct protocol for formal toasts?' and 'What is the difference between a Governor General and a Viceroy?'