The Piers Gaveston Society is a secret dining club

Dining club

A dining club is a social group, usually requiring membership , which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers...

 at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 with membership limited to 12 undergraduates. It is named in honour of Piers Gaveston

Piers Gaveston

Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...

, favourite and supposed lover of King Edward II of England

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

. Its members have a reputation for indulging in bizarre entertainments and sexual excess. Traditionally, the society organises secret bacchanalian parties for hundreds of friends, who are whisked away to secret locations (usually grand country mansions) to enjoy a night of Bollinger champagne, beluga caviar

Beluga caviar

Beluga caviar is caviar consisting of the roe of the beluga sturgeon Huso huso. It is found primarily in the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest salt-water lake, which is bordered by Iran and the former Soviet socialist republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. It can also be...

, multitudinous illegal drugs, and public copulation. Words most often associated with this society are "decadence" and "debauchery".

Notable members

Name	Notable for...
Ian Hislop Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop is a British journalist, satirist, comedian, writer, broadcaster and editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye...	Satirist
Rory Stewart Rory Stewart Roderick 'Rory' James Nugent Stewart OBE FRSL MP DUniv is a British academic, author, and Conservative politician. Since May 2010, he has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border, in the county of Cumbria, North West England.- Overview :Stewart was a senior coalition official in a...	Member of Parliament Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Nat Rothschild Nathaniel Philip Rothschild Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild , also known as Nat, is a British-born financier who has settled in Switzerland, and a scion of the prominent Rothschild family. He is the Chairman of "JNR Limited", an investment advisory business primarily focused on emerging markets and the metals, mining...	Financier, scion of the Rothschild family Rothschild family The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century... .
Darius Guppy Darius Guppy Darius 'Darry' Guppy is a British-Iranian businessman who, together with Benedict Marsh, was convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting in February 1993...	Convicted of fraud in 1993, he was best man at the wedding of his friend Charles Spencer Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL , styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales... , the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
Count Gottfried von Bismarck	Descendant of Otto von Bismarck Otto von Bismarck Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
Tom Parker Bowles Tom Parker Bowles Thomas Henry Parker Bowles is the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles. His stepfather and godfather is Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. His younger sister is Laura Lopes....	Stepson of HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles)
Boris Johnson Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...	Mayor of London Mayor of London The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Hugh Grant Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...	English actor and film producer.

Further reading

• Oxford Clubs
• Photographs by Dafydd Jones