Background
Peat was born in 1949 and is great-grandson of William Barclay Peat, founder of the accountancy firm of Peat Marwick.
Peat was born in 1949 and is great-grandson of William Barclay Peat, founder of the accountancy firm of Peat Marwick.
He was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, University of Oxford, where he received an Master of Arts degree. He later attended the European Institute of Business Administration (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires) in Fontainebleau, France, and obtained an Master of Business Administration degree in 1977.
He became an Associate Chartered Accountant in 1965 and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1975. He led a 1986 study into the financial management of the Royal Household. From 1987 to 1990, he was the auditor of the Privy Purse and administrative adviser to the Royal Household.
He retired from Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler in 1993, and in 1996 was appointed Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen, and Receiver General of the Duchy of Lancaster.
He retired from these positions in 2002, when he was appointed as private secretary to the Prince of Wales, taking control of the Office of the Prince of Wales. In 2005 he was made Principal Private Secretary to TRH The Prince of Wales & The Duchess of Cornwall.
Peat stepped down as the Prince of Wales" Private Secretary in January 2011. He continued to undertake investment and financial projects for the Prince and provide advice on a part-time basis.
Peat was replaced as Principal Private Secretary by William Nye, formerly Director of the National Security Secretariat, Cabinet Office and a career civil servant with experience working at the Home Office and the Treasury.
Peat became the new independent Chairman of GEMS Education"s Board of Directors in 2014.