Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence has been appointed as the next Chair of Trustees of the Science Museum Group, beginning a four-year term on 1 January 2024.
He will succeed Dame Mary Archer as Chair of Trustees, when she stands down at the end of 2023 having served two terms.
Husband to Princess Anne since 1992, Sir Laurence previously served as a Commissioner and then as Chair of English Heritage from 2015 to 2022. He joined the Royal Navy in 1973 and retired in 2011, during which time he also served as Queen Elizabeth’s former equerry from 1986–1989.
He has since pursued a portfolio career with roles including Patron of the Windsor Leadership Trust; Patron of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway; member of the Great Western Railway Advisory Board; and Senior Advisor to the engineering consultancy Tetratech Europe. He also contributes to a number of other charities.
The announcement was welcomed by Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, who said: “Sir Tim’s passion and expertise around built heritage will be a great asset to the Group alongside the leadership he will bring to our talented Board of Trustees.
“Sir Tim’s experience of leading English Heritage through a period of great change will be invaluable as we continue our own journey of transformation across our five museums and collections care facility.
Sir Laurence said: ‘Over the last decade I have admired from afar the remarkable pace and quality of change across the Science Museum Group and in recent months have been fascinated to learn more about the transformations still to come.
