Biography of Matthew Festing

Early Life and Education

Matthew Festing is the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta. He is the son of Sir Francis Festing, a field marshal and Chief of the Imperial General Staff of the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1961. Festing is a descendant of the Knight of the Order of Malta, Blessed Adrian Fortescue, who was martyred in 1539. He received his historical education at the Benedictine Ampleforth College in Yorkshire and at St. John's College, Cambridge. Festing also served in the Grenadier Guards and holds the rank of reserve colonel.

Career and Achievements

Festing served as the Deputy Lieutenant for Northumberland and became a member of the Order in 1977. From 1993 to 2008, he served as the Grand Prior of the Order in Britain and led humanitarian missions in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Kosovo. On March 11, 2008, he was elected as the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.

Awards and Honors

Matthew Festing has received several awards and honors throughout his career, including Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1998), Knight Grand Cross on Chain of the Order of the Star of Romania (2008), and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic with a large ribbon (2008).

Statesmen