Lord John Marbury
Encyclopedia
Lord John Marbury is a recurring fictional character
on the television
show The West Wing, played by Roger Rees
. The character appeared in five episodes, first as an informal aide to President Josiah Bartlet
during a foreign relations crisis, and later within the show as the United Kingdom
's Ambassador to the United States.
He is usually called "Lord John Marbury" by both characters on and fans of The West Wing, a style that would be appropriate for the younger son of a Duke
or Marquess
. His "full name" has been given as "John, Lord Marbury, Earl of Croy
, Earl of Sherborne
, Marquess of Needham
and Dolby, Baronet of Brycey."
, the third child of Queen Victoria
. His great great grandfather was a viceroy
(presumably of either India or Ireland
).
He was educated at the University of Cambridge
and the University of Paris
- La Sorbonne. He then joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
as a diplomat
. He served as the British High Commissioner to both India
and Pakistan
, thus becoming a world-renowned expert on the affairs of the subcontinent
.
, Leo McGarry
, dislikes him and refers to him as "certifiable
". Leo once sarcastically referred to Lord Marbury as "Lord Fauntleroy
", while C. J. Cregg
once called him "Lord Flibbertigibbet
." Lord Marbury, for his part, refers to Leo as "Gerald", and pretends to mistake him for the White House
butler
.
Marbury has upset some women — and President Bartlet — in the White House by making salacious comments, but First Lady
Abbey Bartlet
finds him charming. Josh's assistant Donna Moss
asked him if there were any eligible bachelors in the British royal family. He did not name himself, but mentioned the Earl of Ulster
, who was only five years old.
), Lord Marbury was able to help President Bartlet negotiate a successful end to the Indian ground offensive in Kashmir
. His rapport with the US President did not go unnoticed by the British Government, and they persuaded him to return to the service and become the British Ambassador to the United States. Marbury continued to serve in this capacity through the remainder of the Bartlet Administration, delighting President Bartlet and exasperating his staff.
On one subsequent occasion, Marbury undercut his own Government's foreign policy position and advised President Bartlet and his Administration
to take a different course. The British Government sent him to protest the White House inviting Brendan McGann, a prominent Sinn Féin
politician, to attend a St. Patrick's Day ceremony, but privately told Toby Ziegler
that keeping the invitation would help convince Ulster Unionists that they would have to negotiate with someone.
However, he was much more reflective of his government's stance during the crisis over the downing of a British passenger jet by Iran, when he explained the British Prime Minister Maureen Graty's reasoning for attacking Iran and rebuffed the Bartlet Administration's appeals for restraint.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show The West Wing, played by Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
. The character appeared in five episodes, first as an informal aide to President Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
during a foreign relations crisis, and later within the show as the United Kingdom
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...
's Ambassador to the United States.
He is usually called "Lord John Marbury" by both characters on and fans of The West Wing, a style that would be appropriate for the younger son of a Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
or Marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
. His "full name" has been given as "John, Lord Marbury, Earl of Croy
Croy
Croy may refer to:*Croy, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Vaud*One of several communities in Scotland, including:**Croy, Highland**Croy, North Lanarkshire*The House of Croÿ, an ancient and wealthy family originating in Belgium...
, Earl of Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
, Marquess of Needham
Needham, Norfolk
Needham is a small village in Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 310 in 129 households as of the 2001 census.Its church, St Peter, is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.-Reference in popular culture:...
and Dolby, Baronet of Brycey."
Character backstory
Through conversations within the show, the character's family background and experience are described. He is a descendant, on his mother's side of the family, of Princess AlicePrincess Alice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Alice was a member of the British royal family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.Alice's education was devised by Albert's close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar...
, the third child of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. His great great grandfather was a viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
(presumably of either India or Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
).
He was educated at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
- La Sorbonne. He then joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
as a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. He served as the British High Commissioner to both India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, thus becoming a world-renowned expert on the affairs of the subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
Personality and relationship with other characters
Marbury is an eccentric character. Bartlet's Chief of StaffWhite House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
, Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
, dislikes him and refers to him as "certifiable
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
". Leo once sarcastically referred to Lord Marbury as "Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
", while C. J. Cregg
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean "C. J." Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet...
once called him "Lord Flibbertigibbet
Flibbertigibbet
Flibbertigibbet is a Middle English word referring to a flighty or whimsical person, usually a young woman. In modern use, it is used as a slang term, especially in Yorkshire, for a gossipy or overly talkative person. Its origin is in a meaningless representation of chattering...
." Lord Marbury, for his part, refers to Leo as "Gerald", and pretends to mistake him for the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
.
Marbury has upset some women — and President Bartlet — in the White House by making salacious comments, but First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Abbey Bartlet
Abbey Bartlet
Dr. Abigail Anne "Abbey" Barrington Bartlet, MD, is a fictional character played by Stockard Channing on the television serial drama, The West Wing. In the show, she is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.-Overview:...
finds him charming. Josh's assistant Donna Moss
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
asked him if there were any eligible bachelors in the British royal family. He did not name himself, but mentioned the Earl of Ulster
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster is the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. As the eldest son and heir of the Duke of Gloucester, he is accorded the title Earl of Ulster...
, who was only five years old.
Appearances on The West Wing
Despite being a "lunatic Brit" (in the words of Joshua LymanJosh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
), Lord Marbury was able to help President Bartlet negotiate a successful end to the Indian ground offensive in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. His rapport with the US President did not go unnoticed by the British Government, and they persuaded him to return to the service and become the British Ambassador to the United States. Marbury continued to serve in this capacity through the remainder of the Bartlet Administration, delighting President Bartlet and exasperating his staff.
On one subsequent occasion, Marbury undercut his own Government's foreign policy position and advised President Bartlet and his Administration
Administration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.-United States:In United States usage, the term refers to the executive branch under a specific president , for example: the "Barack Obama administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency...
to take a different course. The British Government sent him to protest the White House inviting Brendan McGann, a prominent Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
politician, to attend a St. Patrick's Day ceremony, but privately told Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
that keeping the invitation would help convince Ulster Unionists that they would have to negotiate with someone.
However, he was much more reflective of his government's stance during the crisis over the downing of a British passenger jet by Iran, when he explained the British Prime Minister Maureen Graty's reasoning for attacking Iran and rebuffed the Bartlet Administration's appeals for restraint.
Episodes featuring Lord John Marbury
- "Lord John MarburyLord John Marbury (The West Wing)"Lord John Marbury" is the 11th episode of The West Wing. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was quoted in Time magazine as saying this episode had one of the best expositions on foreign policy she'd seen on TV.-Plot:...
" 1-11 (11) - "He Shall, from Time to Time...He Shall, from Time To Time..."He Shall, from Time to Time…" is the 12th episode of The West Wing.The National Multiple Sclerosis Society was pleased with the portrayal of a major character, which showed that multiple sclerosis is not fatal and that Bartlet uses modern medicine to treat it.-Plot:During the preparations for...
" 1-12 (12) - "The Drop-InThe Drop-In-Plot:Leo tries to convince President Bartlet of the importance of supporting a missile defense plan. The episode begins with an important test where all of the technical systems work but the interceptor system misses the target missile--by 137 miles...
" 2-12 (34) - "Dead Irish WritersDead Irish Writers-Plot:As Abbey contemplates the likelihood that her medical license will be taken away the following day, she grumpily attends a big White House party for her birthday. Bartlet receives another visit from decorous British Ambassador Lord John Marbury, who argues against Bartlet's meeting with a...
" 3-15 (59) - "The Wake Up CallThe Wake Up Call-Plot:The episode opens with the President listening to opera in the Oval Office and C.J. tells the President to go to bed by 8:30pm and gets Margaret to move his morning wake up call to later in the morning....
" 6-14 (124)
See also
- The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
- List of characters on The West Wing
- List of politicians on The West Wing
- List of The West Wing episodes