The office of Lord-Lieutenant is military in origin and can be said to date from the reign of Henry VIII, when its holder was made responsible for the maintenance of order and for all military measures necessary locally for defence. By 1569, provision was made for the appointment of deputies. Although by the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 the Militia was removed from the Lord-Lieutenant's direct control, it was not until 1921 that the Lord-Lieutenant finally lost the power to call on all able-bodied men of the County to fight in case of need.
The traditional links with the armed forces have been preserved in a modern form in the association of the Lord-Lieutenant with the volunteer Reserve Forces and through links with the local armed forces, police, fire and ambulance services. From the earliest days, the Lord-Lieutenant was closely associated with the magistracy. Until the 19th century the Lord-Lieutenant was appointed the Clerk of Peace. In the English and Welsh shires, the Lord-Lieutenant is often a magistrate, chairman of the Advisory Committee and Keeper of the Rolls.
Worcestershire Lieutenants
- 1660-1662 Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 7th Baron Windsor
- 1662-1663 Thomas Wrothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton
- 1663-1687 Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth
- 1687-1689 Francis Smith, 2nd Viscount Carrington
- 1689-1718 Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
- 1719-1751 William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry
- 1751-1808 George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry
- 1808-1831 George Coventry, 7th Earl of Coventry 23 November
- 1831-1833 Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley
- 1833-1837 William Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton
- 1837-1839 Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley
- 1839-1876 George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton
- 1876-1891 Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp
- 1891-1923 George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry
- 1923-1949 John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham
- 1950-1963 Adm. Sir William Tennant
- 1963-1974 Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham
- 1974-1977 Col. John Francis Maclean (of Hereford & Worcestershire)
- 1977-2001 Sir Thomas Dunne (of Hereford & Worcestershire until 1998)
- 2001-2012 Michael Brinton, CVO
- 2012 – to present Lt Col Patrick Holcroft LVO, OBE