Selection
The current High Sheriff is responsible for nominating a successor, usually four to five years in advance. The chosen sheriff is not confirmed until they are pricked by the monarch and their tenure is just one year. The Isle of Wight, as with many other counties, there is a County Consultative Panel to assist the High Sheriff with this process.
The nomination goes forward to the Privy Council and if accepted, is then read out by the King’s Remembrancer at an annual Nomination Ceremony in November in the Royal Courts of Justice in London. This has to happen three times on three consecutive years before being submitted to the King for her approval at the ancient ‘Pricking Ceremony’.
The person chosen should be someone whom the panel considers of ‘standing in the County’, someone who will perform the required duties well and someone who can afford the time and expense involved.
The 'Pricking Ceremony'
Pricked by the monarch? Yes, this ancient and private ceremony is rather simpler than it sounds though. The name of the High Sheriff in Nomination is presented to the King at a ceremony in the Privy Council known as the ‘Pricking Ceremony’.
The King indelibly marks the names by pricking them with a bodkin (a blunt needle originally used for threading ribbon through loops).

Historically the role of High Sheriff could be ruinously expensive and unpopular and therefore was not always a welcome honour. By using a bodkin, the names were permanently marked and the list could not be altered. This practice is thought to have started during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1508).

Each year, 47 High Sheriffs in England and 8 in Wales are appointed. Their names are read out by a team of judges, who sit in the High Court some months before the Swearing In.
To be a High Sheriff on the Isle of Wight, you must be a citizen of good character and own property within the county.
The role is non-political and unpaid, with no part of the expenses falling on the public purse.