‘Privilege to have this role’ says Lord Lieutenant Jo Ropner

The post of a county's Lord Lieutenant is an honorary position, and perhaps not one many people are familiar with. There are many duties and responsibilities within the role, including being the monarch's representative in the county, arranging their visits, and presenting awards on their behalf. Lord Lieutenants give their time to civic, voluntary and social organisations, and liaise with local Armed Forces representatives and their cadets.

In North Yorkshire, the role is currently held by businesswoman Johanna Ropner – the county's first female Lord Lieutenant.

She was involved in the early days of setting up the Camp Hill Estate near Bedale, which offers glamping, weddings and corporate events within 300 acres of ancient forests and meadows. Her time now is taken up with running the Lieutenancy and her involvement in many charities.

She explained the role in more detail, when I met her in the beautiful surroundings of her family home.

“First and foremost, I act as the eyes and ears in the county to 'uphold the dignity of the Crown,' she says. "It is all about the position, not the person. I am just a conduit. I can facilitate in many areas and then step away. I do talk to other Lord Lieutenants, but as our counties are so different, we run them according to the needs of each county. We have an excellent relationship with neighbouring Lord Lieutenants which is super helpful."

Johanna continues: "When we were consulted about the next Lord Lieutenant, I was actually recommending someone else for the job, but was asked if I would consider attending the next round of interviews as a possible candidate. When I got home and discussed it with my husband, we both agreed it was a long shot but I should at least try."

She says when she received the letter from 10 Downing Street, her first thought was, "I can't do this – it's far too big".

"But everyone was so kind, supporting and encouraging me, it did spur me on. I have always wanted to make a difference, and this job would allow me to reach people, open doors for others, and perhaps do exactly that."

Johanna had an idyllic childhood, spending much of the school holidays in the north of Scotland at a very remote lodge only accessible by boat. It had no electricity or telephone. Her mother, a "war baby" was incredibly resourceful, to the extent of having tins of "nearly new" batteries for the house torches, to be used up before the packs of new batteries were opened. Days were filled damming streams, boating and fishing. Walkers exploring the remote landscape would occasionally appear at the back door and ask for a bed for the night and a meal, before setting out again into the wilds. "Formative years for us all, lessons never forgotten," says Johanna.

She was sent away to school and loved it. "It was like Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers," she says, "and I loved the sport, especially lacrosse, playing for Scottish Schoolgirls, and later I captained the team at university, where I was reading agriculture and food marketing. Initially, I wanted to study English and drama, but this idea was dismissed by my father."

Johanna met her future husband, Robert, and they married, both aged 22. However after only four months of marriage, Johanna had a bad car accident which landed her in hospital for three months. She would not have survived but for the three Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers who were first on the scene. They hooked her up to two bags of plasma, which undoubtedly saved her life. She had to learn to walk again with the aid of a calliper and crutches.

"My life changed so much after that," she says. "It made me want to appreciate every day. Every day for me is a bonus day, and something inside me made me want to do more for others and always leave people smiling. I have passed this down to my children.

"It was so hard for my husband through all this but he was amazing. I was told I would struggle to have children, but luckily we went on to have three."

Just after their third child was born, the couple moved into Robert's family house, Camp Hill. In order to stay there, they diversified very quickly into having corporate days and activities, which kept everyone extremely busy, with the added extra of three small children. During Covid lockdown they had to make the tough decision to close all activities and just concentrate on the glamping.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, they opened their doors to accommodate people desperate to take holiday breaks but, at that moment, only allowed to do so in the UK.

Johanna has been involved with many charities, and has now run a Christmas fair for over 25 years, raising in excess of £300,000 for various local good causes. She also ran a sausage and beer festival for five years, with a local butcher, involving the whole family, in order to raise money further charitable funds.

Johanna says she meets so many fascinating people in her role as Lord Lieutenant. "It is a privilege to meet such good people who are under the radar," she says, adding that it is important to celebrate all the good in the county. In 2022, the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, she and the Archbishop of York had a Northern Garden Party to celebrate the work of 600 heroes and volunteers from across Cleveland and North Yorkshire. The celebration was in the Dean's Garden, behind York Minster and concluded with a beautiful service in the Minster itself.

"Our communities are the living heartbeat of our county," says Johanna. "We see community hubs and shops all over the area, run by people who give up their time to help others. We need to continue improving and strengthening our local relationships to help to combat loneliness and isolation. With the ongoing backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, it has become ever more important to pull together and help those most in need."

As the county's first female Lord Lieutenant she feels she is flying the flag. In those early days, there was no uniform for female Lord Lieutenants and quite often she was overlooked by those assuming it would be a man in uniform. Thankfully, women now also are permitted to wear a uniform, which makes her more visible, making her job easier, and helping those trying to spot the Lord Lieutenant.

She takes her role as the King's representative very seriously, plans the royal visits, and is by his side during their duration. She nominates people for the Royal Garden Parties and does investitures at Camp Hill, in the King's place.

Johanna is a trustee of the Rank Foundation, chairing the grants committee which allocates funds to community and social programmes throughout the UK, and is also patron of the Craven Trust, and involved with many other charities. As Vice President of Yorkshire and Humber and North Of England Reserve Forces, she does as much as she can for the cadet movement.

She shared stories about presenting medals to Holocaust survivors and Second World War veterans, some who are too frail to visit Camp Hill, so she will travel to wherever they are, for their presentations.

"I feel so privileged to have this role and to be able to do some good for others, or just to be there for people in the community," she says.