Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Encyclopedia
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG
, PC
(7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British
Liberal
statesman
and Prime Minister
. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl
, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.
Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, while being solidly anti-socialist.
, on 7 May 1847. His father, who, as heir to the 4th Earl of Rosebery
, was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny
, was MP for Stirling
from 1832 to 1847 and served as First Lord of the Admiralty under Lord Melbourne
. His mother, Wilhemina, was a daughter of Earl Stanhope. Lord Dalmeny died on 23 January 1851, the courtesy title passing to his son as the new heir to the earldom. In 1854, his mother married the Duke of Cleveland
. The relationship between mother and son was very poor. His elder and favourite sister became Lady Leconfield
. Dalmeny attended preparatory schools in Hertfordshire
and Brighton
.
Dalmeny attended Eton
between 1860 and 1865. His remarkable intellect, displayed in debates, attracted the attention of William Johnson Cory
. Michael Matthew Kaylor's Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde (2006) explores their personal relationship.
Dalmeny was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
, from 1865 until 1869. The three Prime Ministers from 1880 to 1902 – Gladstone
, Salisbury and Rosebery – all went to both Eton and Christ Church. A prominent figure on the turf for 40 years, Dalmeny bought a horse, Ladas, in 1868, though a rule banned undergraduates from owning horses. When he was found out, he was offered a choice: sell the horse or give up his studies. He chose the latter.
When his grandfather died, in 1868, Dalmeny became Earl of Rosebery
. This did not entitle him to sit in the House of Lords
, as the title is part of the old Peerage of Scotland
, from which 16 members (representative peer
s) were elected to sit in the Lords for each session of Parliament. However, in 1828, Rosebery's grandfather had been created 1st Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
, which did entitle Rosebery to sit in the Lords like all peers of the United Kingdom.
Rosebery toured the United States
in 1873. He was pressed to marry Mary Fox, the illegitimate daughter of Baron Holland
by a French maid; Baroness Holland, a daughter of the Earl of Coventry, had adopted Mary. However, Mary, who was only sixteen, declined and later married a prince of Liechtenstein.
Rosebery is reputed to have said that he had three aims in life: to win the Derby
, to marry an heiress
, and to become Prime Minister
. He managed all three.
In 1878, Rosebery married Hannah
, only child of the Jewish banker Baron Mayer de Rothschild
, and the greatest English heiress of her day. Her father had died in 1874, leaving her the bulk of his estate. They were married in the Board of Guardians in Mount Street, London, on 20 March 1878, when he was 31 and she 27. Later that day, the marriage was blessed in a Christian ceremony in Christ Church, Down Street, Piccadilly
. In January, Rosebery had said to a friend that he found Hannah "very simple, very unspoilt, very clever, very warm-hearted and very shy...I never knew such a beautiful character." Both Queen Victoria's son the Prince of Wales
and her cousin, the army commander George, Duke of Cambridge attended the ceremony. Hannah's death in 1890 from typhoid, compounded by Bright's disease
, left him distraught.
It was speculated that he intended to marry the widowed Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany
, who was married to Queen Victoria's fourth son, Prince Leopold
.
It was also speculated that he was bisexual. Like Oscar Wilde
, he was hounded by John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
for his association with one of Queensberry's sons — Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig
who was his private secretary.
Margot Asquith
said that Rosebery loved to play with his children.
Rosebery was the owner of twelve houses. By marriage, he acquired:
With his fortune, he bought:
As Earl of Rosebery, he was laird of:
He rented:
for his despotism, and went on to praise his Whig forebears - his ancestor, James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
, was a minister to George I of Great Britain
.
Benjamin Disraeli often met with Rosebery in the 1870s to try to recruit him for his party, but this proved futile. Disraeli's major rival, William Ewart Gladstone
, also pursued Rosebery, with considerable success. As part of the Liberal plan to get Gladstone to be MP for Midlothian, Rosebery sponsored and largely ran the Midlothian Campaign
of 1879. He based this on what he had observed in a presidential election in the United States. Gladstone spoke from open-deck trains, and gathered mass support. In 1880, he was duly elected Member for Midlothian and returned to the premiership.
Rosebery served as Foreign Secretary in Gladstone's brief third ministry, 1886. He served as the first chairman of the London County Council, set up by the Conservatives in 1889. Rosebery Avenue in Clerkenwell is named after him.
He served as President of the first day of the 1890 Co-operative Congress
.
Rosebery's second period as Foreign Secretary predominantly involved quarrels with France
over Uganda
. To quote his hero Napoleon, Rosebery thought that "the Master of Egypt is the Master of India"; thus he pursued the policy of expansion in Africa.
Rosebery helped Gladstone's Second Home Rule Bill in the House of Lords; nevertheless it was defeated overwhelmingly in the autumn of 1893. The first bill, in 1886, had been defeated in the House of Commons.
, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
and leader of the more left-wing Liberals. Rosebery's selection was largely because Queen Victoria disliked most of the other leading Liberals.
Rosebery's government was largely unsuccessful. His designs in foreign policy, such as expansion of the fleet, were defeated by disagreements within the Liberal Party, while the Unionist-dominated House of Lords stopped the whole of the Liberals' domestic legislation. The strongest figure in the cabinet was Rosebery's rival, Harcourt. He and his son Lewis were perennial critics of Rosebery's policies.
According to his biographer, Robert Rhodes James
, Rosebery rapidly lost interest in running the government. In the last year of his premiership, he was increasingly haggard: he suffered insomnia due to the continual dissension in his Cabinet
. There were two future prime ministers in the Cabinet, Home Secretary Herbert Asquith, and Secretary of State for War
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
.
On 21 June 1895, the government lost a vote in committee on army supply by just seven votes. While this might have been been treated merely as a vote of no confidence in Secretary for War Campbell-Bannerman, Rosebery chose to treat it as a vote of censure on his government. On 22 June, he and his ministers tendered their resignations to the Queen, who invited the Unionist leader, Lord Salisbury
, to form a government. The following month, the Unionists won a crushing victory in the 1895 general election, and held power for ten years (1895–1905) under Salisbury and Arthur Balfour
.
and opposed Irish Home Rule
, a position that prevented him from participating in the Liberal government that returned to power in 1905. In his later years, Rosebery turned to writing, including biographies of Lord Chatham, Pitt the Younger
, Napoleon
, and Lord Randolph Churchill
. Another one of his passionate interests was the collecting of books.
The last years of his political life saw Rosebery become a purely negative critic of the Liberal governments of Campbell-Bannerman
and Asquith
. His crusade "for freedom as against bureaucracy, for freedom as against democratic tyranny, for freedom as against class legislation, and … for freedom as against Socialism" was a lonely one, conducted from the cross-benches in the Lords. He did join the die-hard unionist peers in attacking Lloyd George
's redistributive People's Budget
in 1909, but stopped short of voting against the measure for fear of bringing retribution upon the Lords. The crisis provoked by the Lords' rejection of the budget encouraged him to reintroduce his resolutions for Lords reform, but they were lost with the dissolution of parliament in December 1910. After assaulting the "ill-judged, revolutionary and partisan" terms of the 1911 Parliament Bill
, which proposed to curb the Lords' veto, he voted with the government in what proved to be his last appearance in the House of Lords. This was effectively the end of his public life, though he made several public appearances to support the war
effort after 1914 and sponsored a "bantam battalion" in 1915. Though Lloyd George offered him "a high post not involving departmental labour" to augment his 1916 coalition, Rosebery declined to serve.
The last year of the war was clouded by two personal tragedies—his son Neil's death in Palestine in November 1917 and Rosebery's own stroke a few days before the armistice
. He regained his mental powers, but his movement, hearing, and sight remained impaired for the rest of his life. His sister, Constance, described his last years as a "life of weariness, of total inactivity, & at the last of almost blindness"; John Buchan remembered him in his last month of life, "crushed by bodily weakness" and "sunk in sad and silent meditations". Rosebery died at The Durdans, Epsom
, Surrey
, on 21 May 1929, to the accompaniment—as he had requested—of a gramophone recording of the Eton boating song. Survived by three of his four children, he was buried in the small church at Dalmeny
.
When Rosebery died in 1929 his estate was probated at £1,500,122 3s. 6d.; ( £62,693,299.71 in modern values) he was thus the richest Prime Minister ever, followed by Salisbury, then by Palmerston.
A southern suburb of Sydney
, Australia
, is named Rosebery, after the Earl. A major street, Dalmeny Avenue, runs through the area.
near Leighton Buzzard
that had been built by Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
. Rosebery built another stable and stud near Mentmore Towers at Crafton, Buckinghamshire
, called Crafton Stud.
Rosebery's horses won at least one of each of the five English Classic Races. Among the most famous were Ladas
who won the 1894 Epsom Derby
, Sir Visto
who did it again in 1895, and Cicero
in 1905.
and was an early patron of the sport in Scotland. In 1882 he donated a trophy, the Rosebery Charity Cup
, to be competed for by clubs under the jurisdiction of the East of Scotland FA. The competition lasted over 60 years and raised thousands of pounds for charities in the Edinburgh
area.
Rosebery also became Honorary President of the national Scottish Football Association
, with the representative Scotland national team
occasionally forsaking their traditional dark blue shirts for his traditional racing colours of primrose and pink. This occurred 9 times during Rosebery's lifetime, most notably for the 1900 British Home Championship
match against England
, which the Scots won 4–1.
in Dumfries
on 6 April 1882.
A keen collector of fine books, his library was sold on 29 October 2009 at Sothebys, New Bond Street.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl
Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery
Sir Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery KT, PC, FRS was a British Member of Parliament.Archibald Primrose was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, gaining his MA in 1804...
, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.
Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, while being solidly anti-socialist.
Early life
Archibald Philip Primrose was born in his parents' house in Charles Street, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on 7 May 1847. His father, who, as heir to the 4th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery
Sir Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery KT, PC, FRS was a British Member of Parliament.Archibald Primrose was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, gaining his MA in 1804...
, was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny
Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny
Archibald Ronald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny was an English-born Scottish cricketer.Primrose was born in London and was styled Lord Dalmeny as the heir apparent of his father Lord Rosebery, but he predeceased him in 1931. Like his father, he represented Middlesex...
, was MP for Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
from 1832 to 1847 and served as First Lord of the Admiralty under Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
. His mother, Wilhemina, was a daughter of Earl Stanhope. Lord Dalmeny died on 23 January 1851, the courtesy title passing to his son as the new heir to the earldom. In 1854, his mother married the Duke of Cleveland
Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland
Harry George Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland KG , born Harry George Vane and known as Lord Harry George Vane from 1827 to 1864, was an English Whig statesman. He was the third son of William Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington, who would later be created Duke of Cleveland...
. The relationship between mother and son was very poor. His elder and favourite sister became Lady Leconfield
Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield
Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield , was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament.A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, Leconfield was the eldest son of George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield, and Mary Fanny Blunt...
. Dalmeny attended preparatory schools in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Dalmeny attended Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
between 1860 and 1865. His remarkable intellect, displayed in debates, attracted the attention of William Johnson Cory
William Johnson Cory
William Johnson Cory , born William Johnson, was an educator and poet, born at Torrington, and educated at Eton, where he was afterwards a renowned master, nicknamed Tute by his pupils...
. Michael Matthew Kaylor's Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde (2006) explores their personal relationship.
Dalmeny was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, from 1865 until 1869. The three Prime Ministers from 1880 to 1902 – Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Salisbury and Rosebery – all went to both Eton and Christ Church. A prominent figure on the turf for 40 years, Dalmeny bought a horse, Ladas, in 1868, though a rule banned undergraduates from owning horses. When he was found out, he was offered a choice: sell the horse or give up his studies. He chose the latter.
When his grandfather died, in 1868, Dalmeny became Earl of Rosebery
Earl of Rosebery
Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively...
. This did not entitle him to sit in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, as the title is part of the old Peerage of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
, from which 16 members (representative peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
s) were elected to sit in the Lords for each session of Parliament. However, in 1828, Rosebery's grandfather had been created 1st Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, which did entitle Rosebery to sit in the Lords like all peers of the United Kingdom.
Rosebery toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1873. He was pressed to marry Mary Fox, the illegitimate daughter of Baron Holland
Henry Fox, 4th Baron Holland
Henry Edward Fox, 4th Baron Holland, of Holland, 4th Baron Holland, of Foxley, MP was briefly a British Whig politician and later an ambassador....
by a French maid; Baroness Holland, a daughter of the Earl of Coventry, had adopted Mary. However, Mary, who was only sixteen, declined and later married a prince of Liechtenstein.
Rosebery is reputed to have said that he had three aims in life: to win the Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
, to marry an heiress
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen...
, and to become Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. He managed all three.
Marriage
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen...
, only child of the Jewish banker Baron Mayer de Rothschild
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild of the English branch of the Rothschild family was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild . He was named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, for his grandfather, the patriarch of the Rothschild family.-Life:Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court,...
, and the greatest English heiress of her day. Her father had died in 1874, leaving her the bulk of his estate. They were married in the Board of Guardians in Mount Street, London, on 20 March 1878, when he was 31 and she 27. Later that day, the marriage was blessed in a Christian ceremony in Christ Church, Down Street, Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
. In January, Rosebery had said to a friend that he found Hannah "very simple, very unspoilt, very clever, very warm-hearted and very shy...I never knew such a beautiful character." Both Queen Victoria's son the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and her cousin, the army commander George, Duke of Cambridge attended the ceremony. Hannah's death in 1890 from typhoid, compounded by Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
, left him distraught.
It was speculated that he intended to marry the widowed Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany
Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany
Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Helena of Nassau , who became a member of the British Royal Family by marriage.-Family:She was born in Arolsen, capital of Waldeck...
, who was married to Queen Victoria's fourth son, Prince Leopold
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow...
.
It was also speculated that he was bisexual. Like Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, he was hounded by John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry GCVO was a Scottish nobleman, remembered for lending his name and patronage to the "Marquess of Queensberry rules" that formed the basis of modern boxing, for his outspoken atheism, and for his role in the downfall of author and playwright Oscar...
for his association with one of Queensberry's sons — Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig
Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig
Francis Archibald Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig , also 1st Baron Kelhead in his own right, was a Scottish nobleman and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
who was his private secretary.
Children
Rosebery had four children with Hannah:- Sybil Myra CarolineSybil GrantLady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant was a British writer, designer and artist. She was the eldest child of Archibald "Archie" Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife Hannah...
(1879–1955), who married Sir Charles Grant (1877–1950) - Margaret Etrenne Hannah, known as Peggy, (1881–1967), who in 1899 married The Marquess of CreweRobert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of CreweRobert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe KG, PC , known as The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British statesman and writer....
(1858–1945). Such was her father's popularity that London came to a standstill for the wedding. - Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of RoseberyHarry Primrose, 6th Earl of RoseberyAlbert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery and 2nd Earl of Midlothian , known by his third name of Harry, was a UK politician who briefly served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1945...
(Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald) (January 1882–1974), who served as Scottish SecretarySecretary of State for ScotlandThe Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
in 1945. - Neil James Archibald PrimroseNeil James Archibald PrimroseCaptain The Honourable Neil James Archibald Primrose PC, MC , was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1915 and as...
(December 1882–1917). He married Lady Victoria Stanley; father of Ruth, Countess of Halifax, and was killed in action in PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith , born Emma Alice Margaret Tennant, was an Anglo-Scottish socialite, author and wit...
said that Rosebery loved to play with his children.
Homes
- Mentmore TowersMentmore TowersMentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
in BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, a huge neo-Renaissance stately home, sold in the 1970s - Number 40, Piccadilly, in London.
With his fortune, he bought:
- a shooting lodge at Carrington in MidlothianMidlothianMidlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
- a Georgian villa at Postwick in NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
- In 1897, he bought Villa Delahante in Posillipo, overlooking the Bay of Naples, currently residence of the President of the Italian Republic, still known as "Villa RoseberyVilla RoseberyThe Villa Rosebery is one of the three official residences of the President of the Italian Republic ....
" - 38 Berkeley Square, London
- The Durdans, EpsomEpsomEpsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, where he died in 1929.
As Earl of Rosebery, he was laird of:
- Dalmeny HouseDalmeny HouseDalmeny House is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817.Dalmeny House is the home of the Earl and Countess of Rosebery. The house was the first in...
on the banks of the Firth of ForthFirth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
(pictured) - Barnbougle CastleBarnbougle CastleBarnbougle Castle is a much-altered tower house on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and South Queensferry. It lies within the Dalmeny Estate, and is the property of the Earl of Rosebery. It is about north of Dalmeny House, the main house on the estate...
in the grounds of Dalmeny Estate, used by Rosebery (an insomniac) for privacy.
He rented:
- a home in Randolph Crescent, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918... - Lansdowne HouseLansdowne HouseLansdowne House is a building to the southwest of Berkeley Square in central London, England. It was designed by Robert Adam as a private house and for most of its time as a residence it belonged to the Petty family, Marquesses of Lansdowne. Since 1935, it has been the home of the Lansdowne Club....
, in London, from the Marquess of Lansdowne.
Early political career
At Eton, Rosebery notably attacked Charles I of EnglandCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
for his despotism, and went on to praise his Whig forebears - his ancestor, James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during War of the Spanish Succession...
, was a minister to George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
.
Benjamin Disraeli often met with Rosebery in the 1870s to try to recruit him for his party, but this proved futile. Disraeli's major rival, William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, also pursued Rosebery, with considerable success. As part of the Liberal plan to get Gladstone to be MP for Midlothian, Rosebery sponsored and largely ran the Midlothian Campaign
Midlothian campaign
The Midlothian campaign was a series of foreign policy speeches given by William Ewart Gladstone. It is often cited as the first modern political campaign. It also set the stage for Gladstone's comeback as a politician...
of 1879. He based this on what he had observed in a presidential election in the United States. Gladstone spoke from open-deck trains, and gathered mass support. In 1880, he was duly elected Member for Midlothian and returned to the premiership.
Rosebery served as Foreign Secretary in Gladstone's brief third ministry, 1886. He served as the first chairman of the London County Council, set up by the Conservatives in 1889. Rosebery Avenue in Clerkenwell is named after him.
He served as President of the first day of the 1890 Co-operative Congress
Co-operative Congress
The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s...
.
Rosebery's second period as Foreign Secretary predominantly involved quarrels with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
over Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. To quote his hero Napoleon, Rosebery thought that "the Master of Egypt is the Master of India"; thus he pursued the policy of expansion in Africa.
Rosebery helped Gladstone's Second Home Rule Bill in the House of Lords; nevertheless it was defeated overwhelmingly in the autumn of 1893. The first bill, in 1886, had been defeated in the House of Commons.
Prime Minister
Rosebery became a leader of the Liberal Imperialist faction of the Liberal Party and when Gladstone retired, in 1894, Rosebery succeeded him as Prime Minister, much to the disgust of Sir William HarcourtWilliam Vernon Harcourt (politician)
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He served as Member of Parliament for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of...
, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and leader of the more left-wing Liberals. Rosebery's selection was largely because Queen Victoria disliked most of the other leading Liberals.
Rosebery's government was largely unsuccessful. His designs in foreign policy, such as expansion of the fleet, were defeated by disagreements within the Liberal Party, while the Unionist-dominated House of Lords stopped the whole of the Liberals' domestic legislation. The strongest figure in the cabinet was Rosebery's rival, Harcourt. He and his son Lewis were perennial critics of Rosebery's policies.
According to his biographer, Robert Rhodes James
Robert Rhodes James
Sir Robert Vidal Rhodes James was a British historian and Conservative Member of Parliament. He was born in India and began his education in private schools there, returning to England to attend Sedbergh School and then Worcester College, Oxford.He wrote his first book, a much-acclaimed biography...
, Rosebery rapidly lost interest in running the government. In the last year of his premiership, he was increasingly haggard: he suffered insomnia due to the continual dissension in his Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
. There were two future prime ministers in the Cabinet, Home Secretary Herbert Asquith, and Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
.
On 21 June 1895, the government lost a vote in committee on army supply by just seven votes. While this might have been been treated merely as a vote of no confidence in Secretary for War Campbell-Bannerman, Rosebery chose to treat it as a vote of censure on his government. On 22 June, he and his ministers tendered their resignations to the Queen, who invited the Unionist leader, Lord Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
, to form a government. The following month, the Unionists won a crushing victory in the 1895 general election, and held power for ten years (1895–1905) under Salisbury and Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
.
Later life
Rosebery resigned as leader of the Liberal Party on 6 October 1896, to be succeeded by Harcourt, and gradually moved further and further from the mainstream of the party, although a much-trailed speech at Chesterfield in 1900 was expected to mark his return to active politics. He supported the Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and opposed Irish Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
, a position that prevented him from participating in the Liberal government that returned to power in 1905. In his later years, Rosebery turned to writing, including biographies of Lord Chatham, Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, and Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
. Another one of his passionate interests was the collecting of books.
The last years of his political life saw Rosebery become a purely negative critic of the Liberal governments of Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
and Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
. His crusade "for freedom as against bureaucracy, for freedom as against democratic tyranny, for freedom as against class legislation, and … for freedom as against Socialism" was a lonely one, conducted from the cross-benches in the Lords. He did join the die-hard unionist peers in attacking Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
's redistributive People's Budget
People's Budget
The 1909 People's Budget was a product of then British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, introducing many unprecedented taxes on the wealthy and radical social welfare programmes to Britain's political life...
in 1909, but stopped short of voting against the measure for fear of bringing retribution upon the Lords. The crisis provoked by the Lords' rejection of the budget encouraged him to reintroduce his resolutions for Lords reform, but they were lost with the dissolution of parliament in December 1910. After assaulting the "ill-judged, revolutionary and partisan" terms of the 1911 Parliament Bill
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords which make up the Houses of Parliament. This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
, which proposed to curb the Lords' veto, he voted with the government in what proved to be his last appearance in the House of Lords. This was effectively the end of his public life, though he made several public appearances to support the war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
effort after 1914 and sponsored a "bantam battalion" in 1915. Though Lloyd George offered him "a high post not involving departmental labour" to augment his 1916 coalition, Rosebery declined to serve.
The last year of the war was clouded by two personal tragedies—his son Neil's death in Palestine in November 1917 and Rosebery's own stroke a few days before the armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
. He regained his mental powers, but his movement, hearing, and sight remained impaired for the rest of his life. His sister, Constance, described his last years as a "life of weariness, of total inactivity, & at the last of almost blindness"; John Buchan remembered him in his last month of life, "crushed by bodily weakness" and "sunk in sad and silent meditations". Rosebery died at The Durdans, Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, on 21 May 1929, to the accompaniment—as he had requested—of a gramophone recording of the Eton boating song. Survived by three of his four children, he was buried in the small church at Dalmeny
Dalmeny
Dalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
.
When Rosebery died in 1929 his estate was probated at £1,500,122 3s. 6d.; ( £62,693,299.71 in modern values) he was thus the richest Prime Minister ever, followed by Salisbury, then by Palmerston.
A southern suburb of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, is named Rosebery, after the Earl. A major street, Dalmeny Avenue, runs through the area.
Thoroughbred horse racing
As a result of his marriage to Hannah de Rothschild, Rosebery acquired Mentmore Towers and Mentmore studStud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
near Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard
-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
that had been built by Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild of the English branch of the Rothschild family was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild . He was named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, for his grandfather, the patriarch of the Rothschild family.-Life:Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court,...
. Rosebery built another stable and stud near Mentmore Towers at Crafton, Buckinghamshire
Crafton, Buckinghamshire
Crafton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Mentmore, in Buckinghamshire, England.The hamlet's name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'farm where saffron grows'. Queen Edith, the wife of king Edward the Confessor, had a hunting lodge in the small area between Mentmore and Crafton known as...
, called Crafton Stud.
Rosebery's horses won at least one of each of the five English Classic Races. Among the most famous were Ladas
Ladas (horse)
Ladas was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1893 to 1894 he ran eleven times and won seven races. He was the outstanding British two-year-old of 1893 when he was unbeaten in four starts. In the following year he won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Derby...
who won the 1894 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
, Sir Visto
Sir Visto
Sir Visto was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1894 to 1896 he ran thirteen times and won three races. As a three-year-old in the 1895 he won both the Epsom Derby and the St Leger at Doncaster...
who did it again in 1895, and Cicero
Cicero (horse)
Cicero was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the best English two-year-old of 1904, winning all five of his races. In 1905 Cicero became one of the shortest priced successful favourites in the history of the Derby, winning at 4/11 to remain undefeated...
in 1905.
Football
Rosebery also developed a keen in interest in association footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and was an early patron of the sport in Scotland. In 1882 he donated a trophy, the Rosebery Charity Cup
Rosebery Charity Cup
The Rosebery Charity Cup was a football competition organised for senior clubs from the East of Scotland.- History :The tournament was organised by and named for an early patron of Scottish football Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and received continued support from his son, Harry...
, to be competed for by clubs under the jurisdiction of the East of Scotland FA. The competition lasted over 60 years and raised thousands of pounds for charities in the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
area.
Rosebery also became Honorary President of the national Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
, with the representative Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
occasionally forsaking their traditional dark blue shirts for his traditional racing colours of primrose and pink. This occurred 9 times during Rosebery's lifetime, most notably for the 1900 British Home Championship
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
match against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, which the Scots won 4–1.
Culture
Rosebery unveiled the statue of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
on 6 April 1882.
A keen collector of fine books, his library was sold on 29 October 2009 at Sothebys, New Bond Street.
Lord Rosebery's government, March 1894 – June 1895
- Lord Rosebery – First Lord of the TreasuryFirst Lord of the TreasuryThe First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
, Lord President of the CouncilLord President of the CouncilThe Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
, and Leader of the House of LordsLeader of the House of LordsThe Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,... - Lord HerschellFarrer Herschell, 1st Baron HerschellFarrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell GCB, PC, QC was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain in 1886, and again from 1892 to 1895.-Early career:...
– Lord ChancellorLord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign... - Lord TweedmouthEdward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron TweedmouthEdward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth KT, PC was a British Liberal Party statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1894 when he inherited his peerage and then sat in the House of Lords...
– Lord Privy SealLord Privy SealThe Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state... - Herbert Henry Asquith – Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Lord KimberleyJohn Wodehouse, 1st Earl of KimberleyJohn Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley KG , PC , known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal politician...
– Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs - Lord RiponGeorge Robinson, 1st Marquess of RiponGeorge Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon KG, GCSI, CIE, PC , known as Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British politician who served in every Liberal cabinet from 1861 until his death forty-eight years later.-Background...
– Secretary of State for the ColoniesSecretary of State for the ColoniesThe Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies.... - Sir Henry Campbell-BannermanHenry Campbell-BannermanSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
– Secretary of State for WarSecretary of State for WarThe position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854... - Sir Henry Hartley Fowler – Secretary of State for IndiaSecretary of State for IndiaThe Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office...
- Sir William HarcourtWilliam Vernon Harcourt (politician)Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He served as Member of Parliament for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of...
– Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and Leader of the House of CommonsLeader of the House of CommonsThe Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons... - Lord Spencer – First Lord of the Admiralty
- Anthony John MundellaAnthony John MundellaAnthony John Mundella PC , known as A. J. Mundella, was an English manufacturer, reformer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1897...
– President of the Board of Trade - Arnold MorleyArnold MorleyArnold Morley PC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Background:Morley was a younger son of Samuel Morley and Rebekah Maria, daughter of Samuel Hope of Liverpool...
– Postmaster-GeneralUnited Kingdom Postmaster GeneralThe Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs... - George John Shaw-Lefevre – President of the Local Government BoardPresident of the Local Government BoardThe President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...
- James BryceJames Bryce, 1st Viscount BryceJames Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FBA was a British academic, jurist, historian and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
– Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterChancellor of the Duchy of LancasterThe Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster... - John Morley – Chief Secretary for IrelandChief Secretary for IrelandThe Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
- Sir George Otto Trevelyan – Secretary for Scotland
- Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland – Vice President of the Council
Changes
- May 1894: James Bryce succeeds A.J. Mundella at the Board of Trade. Lord Tweedmouth succeeds Bryce at the Duchy of Lancaster, remaining also Lord Privy Seal.
See also
- In his fraudulent memoirs, Sir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd BaronetSir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd BaronetSir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, 2nd Baronet was a British oriental scholar and linguist whose work exerted a powerful influence on the Western view of the last decades of the Qing Dynasty. Since his death, however, it has been established that some of his sources were forged, though it is not clear...
claimed to be Rosebery's lover.
External links
- Earl Of Rosebery 1847–1929 biography from the Liberal Democrat History Group
- More about The Earl of Roseberry on the Downing street website.