LORD Petre has had an eventful term of office...with some highs and lows during his 15 years.

John Patrick Lionel Petre, 18th Baron Petre, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Essex – succeeding Robin Henry Charles Neville, 10th Baron Braybrooke – in October 2002.

Seemingly not one for airs and graces, Lord Petre is known for driving himself to official functions. Apart from regal occasions – such as a visit by the Queen to Maldon, when Essex County Council loaned him a car – Lord Petre is usually to be seen driving himself from his estate Ingatestone Hall, near Chelmsford, in his Volvo. He has even been known to change into his ceremonial attire from his modest car.

Lord Petre and his wife Marcia had two sons Dominic and Mark and daughter Clare. Tragedy struck two years after Lord Petre began his term office with the death of his son Mark, a writer, who was found dead at the family estate in 2004.

The Petre family is the largest landowner in Essex, including Ingatestone Hall and Writtle Park.

The family owned Thorndon Hall, near Brentwood, set in an extensive deer park. Formerly called Thorndon Old Hall, it burned in the 1880s. It has since been rebuilt as flats within the repaired walls, and the family mortuary chapel nearby is now owned by Historic Chapels Trust.

Proud of his forebear John Petre, who was deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex from 1590 to 1598 during the reign of Elizabeth I, Lord Petre said: “He was with all the troops sent to Tilbury to face the Spanish Armada.”

Showing no signs of slowing down in the run up to handing over the reigns of office to Jennifer Tolhurst on August 4 , Eton and Oxford educated Lord Petre is associated with a large number of local organisations such as Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, Brentwood Arts Council, Brentwood Shakespeare Company and the Ingatestone and Fryerning Horticultural Society.