James Everard was born in Leicestershire, and educated at Uppingham School. He attended Sandhurst in 1982, being commissioned the following year into the 17th/21st Lancers. He spent his formative years on the Chieftain and Challenger Main Battle Tanks in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), going on to command the Queen’s Royal Lancers, 20th Armoured Brigade, 3rd (UK) Division and the UK Field Army. He also served as the 3 star Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Military Strategy and Operations (in the UK MOD), and finally as the 4 star Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) in NATO / Commander European Union military operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He retired in 2020. Of his 38 years’ in the Army over 20 were spent overseas, including service in in Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Germany, Iraq, Kosovo and the USA. James still works for NATO as Lead Senior Mentor Allied Command Operations, as part of a larger portfolio career focused on modern deterrence, defence, and future war. He is President of the Army Benevolent Fund and became Colonel of The Royal Lancers on 31 December 2024. He is married to Caroline, and they have three grown children, one of whom (Sam) is a serving junior officer in the Regiment: they divide their time between London and Norfolk. He is the brother of the current Regimental Secretary, Lt Col (Retd) Nick Everard.