Upon returning to Britain, Lord and Lady Wakehurst worked with community organisations including the Order of St John of Jerusalem, of which Wakehurst was Lord Prior from 1948 to 1969, subsequently also a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order (GCStJ), and for the English-Speaking Union. An avid theatre-lover Wakehurst was a trustee of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and a governor of the Royal Ballet. Lady Wakehurst also served on the executive committee of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Lord Wakehurst succeeded Earl Granville as the Governor of Northern Ireland in 1952.