Cultural depictions of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Last updated

Cultural depictions of prime ministers of the United Kingdom have become commonplace since the term's first use in 1905. [1] [2] However, they have been applied to prime ministers who were in office before the first use of the term. They are listed here chronologically from the date of first appointment as prime minister.

Contents

William Pitt the Younger

Lord Liverpool

George Canning

Duke of Wellington

Lord Melbourne

Melbourne has been portrayed in the following film and television productions:

Robert Peel

Lord Palmerston

Palmerston has been portrayed in the following film and television productions:

Lord Derby

Benjamin Disraeli

William Gladstone

Gladstone has been portrayed in the following film and television productions:

Lord Salisbury

Salisbury has been portrayed in the following film and television productions:

A.J. Balfour

Balfour was the subject of two parody novels based on Alice in Wonderland, Clara in Blunderland (1902) and Lost in Blunderland (1903), which appeared under the pseudonym Caroline Lewis; one of the co-authors was Harold Begbie. [4] [5]

He was portrayed on television in:

Henry Campbell-Bannerman

Campbell-Bannerman was portrayed by Geoffrey Bayldon in episodes 12 and 13 of tv series Edward the Seventh (1975).

H.H. Asquith

Asquith was portrayed in the following TV series:

David Lloyd George

Bonar Law

Stanley Baldwin

Baldwin has been portrayed in the following film and television productions:

The character of ‘’Stanley’’ (referred to in his only book appearance as ‘’No. 2’’) from the British children’s book series ‘The Railway Series’’, a Baldwin Class 10-12-D locomotive, was named after Baldwin. [16]

Ramsay MacDonald

Neville Chamberlain

Chamberlain has been portrayed in the following films and television productions:

Winston Churchill

Clement Attlee

Literature

Clement Attlee composed this limerick about himself to demonstrate how he was often underestimated: [19]

Few thought he was even a starter.
There were many who thought themselves smarter.
But he finished PM,
CH and OM,
An earl and a Knight of the Garter.

An alternative version also exists, which may reflect Attlee's use of English more closely: [20]

There were few who thought him a starter,
Many who thought themselves smarter.
But he ended PM,
CH and OM,
an Earl and a Knight of the Garter.

Drama

Film

Anthony Eden

Literature

Music

Plays

Television

Film

Harold Macmillan

Alec Douglas-Home

Harold Wilson

Television

Film

Other

Edward Heath

James Callaghan

Margaret Thatcher

John Major

Tony Blair

Gordon Brown

David Cameron

Theresa May

Boris Johnson

Johnson was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the 2022 Sky Atlantic drama This England. KennethBranaghApr2011.jpg
Johnson was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the 2022 Sky Atlantic drama This England .

The political career of Johnson has been the subject of several television docudramas:

Johnson's bumbling mannerisms and distinctive hairstyle have also made him the subject of parody:

Johnson has been the subject of British music and music media:

Related Research Articles

A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliamentary Private Secretary</span> UK government office

A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Club</span> Gentlemens club in London

The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Records of prime ministers of the United Kingdom</span>

The article lists the records of prime ministers of the United Kingdom since 1721.

David Markham was an English stage and film actor for over forty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Conservative Party (UK)</span> Aspect of British political history

The Conservative Party is the oldest political party in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. The current party was first organised in the 1830s and the name "Conservative" was officially adopted, but the party is still often referred to as the Tory party. The Tories had been a coalition that more often than not formed the government from 1760 until the Reform Act 1832. Modernising reformers said the traditionalistic party of "Throne, Altar and Cottage" was obsolete, but in the face of an expanding electorate 1830s–1860s it held its strength among royalists, devout Anglicans and landlords and their tenants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarissa Eden</span> English memoirist (1920–2021)

Anne Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon was an English memoirist and the second wife of Anthony Eden, who served as British prime minister from 1955 to 1957. She married Eden in 1952, becoming Lady Eden in 1954 when he was made a Knight of the Garter, before becoming Countess of Avon in 1961 when her husband was created Earl of Avon. She was also Winston Churchill's niece. In 2007, at 87, she released her memoir subtitled From Churchill to Eden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Eden hat</span> Type of headgear popularised in Britain

An "Anthony Eden" hat, or simply an "Anthony Eden", was a type of headgear popularised in Britain in the mid-20th century by politician Anthony Eden, later 1st Earl of Avon (1897–1977). Eden, who was known for his sartorial elegance, favoured a silk-brimmed, black felt homburg at a time when most Britons preferred the trilby or the bowler. Eden held a number of cabinet posts in the 1930s and the 1940s, and was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957.

In 1951 the Festival of Britain was held in the United Kingdom, and a general election returned Winston Churchill to power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Members' Lobby</span> Hallway in the Palace of Westminster, London, England

The Members' Lobby is a hallway in the Palace of Westminster used by members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Members of Parliament may congregate here for discussions while not dealing with other business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchill war ministry</span> UK government during World War II

The Churchill war ministry was the United Kingdom's coalition government for most of the Second World War from 10 May 1940 to 23 May 1945. It was led by Winston Churchill, who was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain in the aftermath of the Norway Debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Edward VII</span>

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom has been depicted a number of times in different media and popular culture.

George V has been portrayed on screen by:

<i>Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years</i> British TV series or programme

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an eight-part 1981 drama serial based on Winston Churchill's years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 1930s. It was made by Southern Television on a budget of £3¼ million and originally broadcast on ITV on Sunday nights at 10 pm. It was written and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax, with historian Martin Gilbert as co-writer. Churchill was played by Robert Hardy, who earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor and went on to play him in several other productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eden ministry</span> Government of the United Kingdom

The Eden ministry was formed following the resignation of Winston Churchill in April 1955. Anthony Eden, then-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, took over as Leader of the Conservative Party, and thus became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Upon assuming office, Eden asked Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve parliament and called a general election for May 1955. After winning the general election with a majority of 60 seats in the House of Commons, Eden governed until his resignation on 10 January 1957.

Churchill and the Generals is a 1979 BBC television drama concerning the relationship between Winston Churchill and generals of the Allied forces, set in the Cabinet Office and War Rooms between 1940 and 1945. It was written by Ian Curteis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill</span> State funeral of British prime minister

Sir Winston Churchill, the British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War, died on 24 January 1965, aged 90. His was the first state funeral in the United Kingdom for a non-member of the royal family since Edward Carson's in 1935. It was the last state funeral until Queen Elizabeth II's on 19 September 2022. The official funeral lasted for four days. Planning for the funeral, known as Operation Hope Not, began after Churchill's stroke in 1953 while in his second term as prime minister. After several revisions due to Churchill's continued survival, the plan was issued on 26 January 1965, two days after his death.

<i>The Crown</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of The Crown follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It consists of ten episodes and was released on Netflix on 4 November 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-war Britain (1945–1979)</span> Period of British political history

When Britain emerged victorious from the Second World War, the Labour Party under Clement Attlee came to power and created a comprehensive welfare state, with the establishment of the National Health Service giving free healthcare to all British citizens, and other reforms to benefits. The Bank of England, railways, heavy industry, and coal mining were all nationalised. The most controversial issue was nationalisation of steel, which was profitable unlike the others. Economic recovery was slow, housing was in short supply, bread was rationed along with many necessities in short supply. It was an "age of austerity". American loans and Marshall Plan grants kept the economy afloat. India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon gained independence. Britain was a strong anti-Soviet factor in the Cold War and helped found NATO in 1949. Many historians describe this era as the "post-war consensus" emphasising how both the Labour and Conservative parties until the 1970s tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong trade unions, heavy regulation, high taxes, and a generous welfare state.

References

  1. "History of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  2. "Henry Campbell-Bannerman | British Prime Ministers through the ages". Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. Fullerton, Hugh (4 July 2018). "Victoria: Who was Sir Robert Peel?". Radio Times . Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. Sigler, Carolyn, ed. (1997). Alternative Alices: Visions and Revisions of Lewis Carroll's "Alice" Books. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 340–347.
  5. Dickinson, Evelyn (20 June 1902). "Literary Note and Books of the Month". United Australia. II (12).
  6. "Books: The Welsh Wizard" . Time . 23 June 1961.
  7. Goodlad, Graham; Wells, Tom (2010). "England, 1900–1924: This is the song: Lloyd George Knew My Father". Sempringham Publishing. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  8. "2010 UK Memory of the World Register". 2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  9. "BBC Genome". March 1946. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. Moscow — Genoa at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  11. Young Winston at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  12. Garner, Stanton B. (1999). Trevor Griffiths: Politics, Drama, History. University of Michigan Press. p. 105.
  13. The Life and Times of David Lloyd George at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  14. Literary London, books.google.co.uk; accessed 2 April 2017.
  15. "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George". IMDb. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  16. The Rev. W. Awdry; G Awdry (1987). The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways . Kaye & Ward. p. 41. ISBN   0-434-92762-7.
  17. Fame is the Spur Archived 4 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Britmovie
  18. Billington, Michael (10 February 2007). "Ian Richardson". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  19. Jones, Barry. Dictionary of World Biography, 1998
  20. Source: Kenneth Harris, Attlee (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1982)
  21. Rentoul, John (27 January 2013). "Yes, Prime Ministers!". The Independent. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  22. Kenji Lloyd (7 January 2016). "The Crown trailer: First look at Peter Morgan's Netflix drama". Final Reel. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 'Personal Choice', The Times (London, 24 November 1979), 11.
  24. Taylor, Jeremy (3 March 2017). "FT Masterclass: Stamp collecting with Samuel West". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  25. Horne, Macmillan, vol. II, p. 454.
  26. D. R. Thorpe, 'A Psychologically Interesting Prime Minister', Premiere of Never So Good (London: National Theatre, 2008).
  27. "Filming The Crown: on the set of the lavish Netflix series – in pictures". The Guardian. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  28. "Nolly". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  29. "The Night They Tried to Kidnap the Prime Minister". BBC . Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  30. "'The Crown' Enlists Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson". The Hollywood Reporter . 3 May 2018.
  31. "Meet the cast of Stonehouse and their real-life counterparts". Radio Times . 5 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  32. 1 2 Gans, Andrew (26 February 2017). "Edward Fox Will Replace Injured Robert Hardy in London World Premiere of The Audience". Playbill. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  33. "The Windsors (2016– ) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  34. "Theresa vs. Boris: How May Became PM". IMDb. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  35. "A Very Social Secretary". Daybreak Pictures. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  36. Parker, Robin (27 July 2009). "Cast emerges for More4's young Tories drama". Broadcast.
  37. O'Donovan, Gerard (18 June 2017). "Theresa v Boris: How May Became PM review: an odd yet ambitious concotion" . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  38. Wollaston, Sam (19 June 2017). "Theresa vs Boris: How May Became PM review – a timely mix of treachery and Mayhem". The Guardian.
  39. Bennett, Asa (28 December 2018). "Brexit: The Uncivil War review: Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in this thrilling romp through the referendum" . The Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  40. Elliott, Matthew (4 January 2019). "Vote Leave's Matthew Elliott on Channel 4's Brexit: The Uncivil War" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021. Screenwriter James Graham has turned the campaign into a compelling story – and nailed my mannerisms.
  41. "Kenneth Branagh transforms into Boris Johnson in uncanny first-look photo for new coronavirus drama". Sky News. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  42. "2DTV cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  43. "Newzoids returns for second series". ITV Press Centre. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  44. "Headcases cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  45. Welsh, Daniel (26 April 2019). "Stormzy Lays Into Boris Johnson In Music Video For New Single Vossi Bop". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  46. White, Adam (8 December 2020). "Saturday Night Live: James Corden plays Boris Johnson in 'good-looking bad boys of NATO' sketch". The Independent . Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  47. Carr, Flora (2 October 2020). "Spitting Image puppets – here's who appears in the BritBox revival". Radio Times . Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  48. Clarke, Patrick (14 December 2020). "Watch Robbie Williams play Boris Johnson in video for festive single 'Can't Stop Christmas'". NME . Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  49. Greig, James (23 December 2020). "A Song Called 'Boris Johnson Is a Fucking C*nt' Could Be Christmas Number 1". Vice . Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  50. "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 25 December 2020 – 31 December 2020". Official Charts Company . 25 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.