Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Sir William Walter Mahon, 7th Baronet, LVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

 (born 4 December 1940) is an baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 and retired regular officer of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

.

Mahon is descended from Sir Ross Mahon, 1st Baronet

Mahon Baronets

The Mahon Baronetcy, of Castlegar in the County of Galway, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 14 April 1819 for Ross Mahon, Member of Parliament for Ennis in 1820...

 (1763-1835), Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Ennis

Ennis (UK Parliament constituency)

Ennis is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Members of Parliament:Notes:-...

, who was created a baronet on 14 April 1819.

The son of Sir George Edward John Mahon, 6th Baronet, and of Audrey Evelyn (née

NEE

NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...

 Jagger), Mahon was educated at Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

, before being commissioned into the Irish Guards

Irish Guards

The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...

 in 1960. He served with the British Army in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Malaysia, Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. From 1993, he was a member of HM the Queen

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

's body guard, the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms

Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms

Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834 they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners.-Formation:...

, and served as the unit's Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant from 2006 to 2008 and as its Standard Bearer from 2008. For these services, he was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the 2011 New Year Honours.

He was active as a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Relief

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer....

 from 1993 to 2002 and became Chairman of the National Army Musical Development Trust in 2003.

In 1968, he married Rosemary Jane, younger daughter of Lt-Colonel M. E. Melvill OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 of Symington

Symington, South Lanarkshire

Symington is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 3 miles southwest of Biggar, 10 miles east of Douglas and 13 miles southeast of Carluke...

, Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

, and they have one son (James William Mahon, born 29 October 1976) and two daughters.

Mahon is a member of the Army and Navy Club

Army and Navy Club

The Army and Navy Club in London is a gentlemen's club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag.-Foundation and membership:...

 and lives at Codford

Codford

Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

, Wiltshire.

He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1987, and his heir is his only son, James William.