Her Majesty and the First Five of Her Ten

The Queen hasn't many of the powers or titles of her ancestors, but she does retain powers that have meant much to many monarchs including herself. I'm speaking of her power to appoint a prime minister, as well as, her power to choose whether or not to grant a dissolution of Parliament. As a general rule, the prime minister is the leader of the party claiming a majority in Parliament. The Queen does, however, have the power to appoint a prime minister whom she feels is necessary to carry on her government. This power is rarely exercised. Of course the Prime Minister and the government have the right to resign as well. This is exactly what Prime Minister Clement Atlee and his government threatened to do if Edward VIII married Wallis Simpson. Edward VIII chose to abdicate and then marry Wallis proving that the power is one that a monarch must use wisely if they are to selflessly serve their subjects best interest rather than selfishly serve their own.

In the nearly 50 years of her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has been served by a total of ten prime ministers beginning with Winston Churchill in 1952 through the current Prime Minister, Tony Blair. All have been very unique and as influential on crown and country as the Queen has been on them. Let's review the first five who have served along with HM. Her first PM was Sir Winston Spencer Churchill who had the distinction of serving from 1940 to 1945 with Queen Elizabeth's father, George VI. He was instrumental in the success of WW II through a combination of political genius, extraordinary vision, superior management, inspirational speeches and brilliant military strategy. He returned as Prime Minister in 1951 and in 1955 retired at 81 devastated by his inability to bring an end to the post WWII cold war. I'm sure the Queen was very happy to begin her reign having this respected and personally known man at her side as she ventured into the overwhelming role of monarch.

Sir Anthony Eden succeeded Winston Churchill as Prime Minister upon the Queen's appointment of April 6, 1955. As the Foreign Officer under Winston Churchill, PM Eden worked tirelessly to help bring an end to the cold war. Under Churchill, his monumental efforts in negotiating peace had him referred to as "the consummate peacemaker". The promise of his premiership was soon tainted by charges of vanity when his actions upon Egypt's nationalization of the Suez Canal (bombing and deploying troops) resulted in UN intervention. The controversy at home was so great that he was convinced to resign in 1957 after a short time in the position of Prime Minister that he was expected to hold for many years.

Enter Harold Macmillan a Conservative whose premiership ran from 1957-63. Mr. Macmillan was half-American, from a humble background and unlike his predecessor, Sir Anthony, did not expect a long or memorable tenure as prime minister. As fate would have it, he served during a prosperous period, which also saw the easing of cold war tensions. He earned the nickname 'Supermac' upon restoring the country's morale. He was flying high until his when in his second term he made application for Britain's membership in the EEC - which was rejected by de Gaulle. The people and his party were split on the merits of applying and they also judged his handling of the Profumo Affair as poor. He resigned amid the controversy in 1963 after a health scare.

Macmillan was replaced by Sir Alec Douglas-Home another Conservative who served a short term from 1963 - 1964. Sir Alec had the distinction of being the first peer to be appointed Prime Minister in nearly 70 years. Unfortunately, he was given precious little time to make an impact as he was obliged to call a General Election, which Harold Wilson won in great part to his leveraging the fact that Home came from an aristocratic background. His most memorable moment of service came later, when he returned to the post of Foreign Secretary under Edward Heath. 

Harold Wilson served as PM from 1964-70 and again from 1974-6 and holds the distinction of being the Labour Party's longest serving Prime Minister. He was famous for saying "A week is a long time in politics". Though his first term went quite smoothly, the devalued pound and a failed attempt to enter the EC plagued his second term. He resigned in March 1976 amid turmoil. He died in 1995 an is remembered for his great achievements such as the abolishment of capital punishment, the foundation of the Open University and the relaxing of laws affecting homosexuals.

Well there you have it - the first five Prime Ministers serving HM Queen Elizabeth II. They are all very strong and unique men. Next week I'll be reviewing the Queen's Christmas Broadcast so I'll have to follow up with the next five in the near future. That will bring us to the first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and the man who is being touted as the next Winston Churchill, Tony Blair.

With every good wish for a beautiful Christmas holiday spent with your loved ones!

All the best,