Background
King was born in the West Midlands and went to the local grammar school, Bishop Vesey"s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield.
King was born in the West Midlands and went to the local grammar school, Bishop Vesey"s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield.
He also studied at the École nationale d"administration in Paris where he met his future wife.
He then gained a Bachelor in Philosophy and Theology from Street Peter"s College, Oxford. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985. Diplomatic 1985–1987 Foreign office in London
1987–1988 École nationale d"administration
1989–1990 Private Secretary to the British Ambassador (Sir Ewen Fergusson) in Paris
1991–1992 worked on European Common Foreign Security Policy in.
Luxembourg, the Hague, Lisbon then London
1993–1995 London, working on European Defence and North Atlantic Treaty Organization issues
1998–2002 Brussels, working on relations with Turkey, European Defence, CFSP and European Union enlargement
2003–2004 Counsellor and Head of Chancery at United Kingdom mission to the United Nations in New York (covering United Nations Security Council business in the period after the Iraq War)
2004–2007 United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the European Union Political and Security Committee in Brussels, covering Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP. 2005 Chaired the European Union Political and Security Committee during the United Kingdom presidency
2008–2009 Head of the office of the British Commissioner in Brussels (Peter Mandelson then Baroness Ashton).
Represented the EU27 on international trade matters, including negotiations on the World Trade Organization Doha Round. 2009–2011 British Ambassador to Ireland
2011–2014 Director General of the Northern Ireland Office
2014–2015 Director-General Economic & Consular Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2016–present British Ambassador to France.