A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer , as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry . These styles are used "by courtesy" in the sense that persons referred to by these titles do not in law hold the substantive title . There are several different kinds of courtesy titles in the British peerage system.
181-498: John Russell, 1st Earl Russell , (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866. The third son of the 6th Duke of Bedford , Russell was educated at Westminster School and Edinburgh University before entering Parliament in 1813. In 1828 he took
362-609: A Sacramental Test bill with the aim of abolishing the prohibitions on Catholics and Protestant dissenters being elected to local government and from holding civil and military offices. The bill gained the backing of the Tory Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel and was passed into law. When the Whigs came to power in 1830, Russell entered Earl Grey's government as Paymaster of the Forces . Despite being
543-627: A charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest , as documented by the Croyland Chronicle and a charter of King Offa . Continuous existence is clear from the early 14th century. Westminster was one of nine schools examined by the 1861 Clarendon Commission and reformed by the Public Schools Act 1868 . The school motto, Dat Deus Incrementum , quotes 1 Corinthians 3:6: "I planted
724-653: A "dossier of rape culture" at the school. A 21-page document included 76 entries on "everyday life" for female pupils and included claims of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. Allegations were levelled at both students and teachers. In March 2022, a review into harmful sexual behaviour at the school was headed by Fiona Scolding QC. The review considered 44 Westminster-related posts submitted to Everyone's Invited alongside other evidence. The review found that 25% of pupils and 65% of girls surveyed said they experienced physical or verbal harmful sexual behaviours, sexual discrimination, and unwanted sharing of images. There
905-408: A Royal Warrant dated 30 April 2004, these children are now automatically entitled to the same styles and courtesy titles as their siblings. However, unlike biological children, they cannot inherit peerages from their parent (and thus, since they cannot be heirs, if a peer adopts a son and he is the oldest son, he would use the styles of younger sons). For example, actress Nimmy March , the daughter of
1086-465: A combination of malnutrition, disease and starvation and well over one million more emigrated from Ireland . After taking office in 1846, Russell's ministry introduced a programme of public works that by the end of that year employed some half-a-million but proved impossible to administer. In 1846 Russell reported that in one year more than 50,000 Irish families had been "turned out of their wretched dwellings without pity and without refuge...we have made it
1267-659: A confidential mission to Rome to seek the Pope's support for the grants plan. In the end, the idea had to be abandoned due to Catholic objections to what they saw as an attempt to control their clergy. However, Russell pressed ahead with plans to re-establish formal diplomatic relations between the Court of St James's and the Holy See , which had been severed when James II was deposed in 1688. Russell managed to pass an Act to authorise an exchange of ambassadors with Rome, but not before
1448-546: A courtesy title are not entitled to use their partner's title. Laird is a courtesy title for the owners of some long-established Scottish estates; the title is attached to the estate, not to the family of the owner. Traditionally, a laird is formally styled in the manner evident on the 1730 tombstone in a Scottish kirkyard (churchyard). It reads: " The Much Honoured John Grant Laird of Glenmoriston". The section titled Scottish Feudal Baronies in Debrett's states that
1629-724: A degree. Although often in poor health, he travelled widely in Britain and in Continental Europe , and held commission as Captain in the Bedfordshire Militia in 1810. During his continental travels, Russell visited Spain where his brother was serving as aide-de-camp to Lord Wellington in the Peninsular War . The following year, Russell had a 90-minute meeting with Napoleon in December 1814, during
1810-559: A dribbling game with a tight off-side rule. By 1867 the Football Association had chosen in favour of the Westminster and Charterhouse game and adopted an off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing game was a direct consequence of Westminster and Charterhouse football. The school is split into 11 houses , some of which are day houses (only admitting day pupils, who go home after school),
1991-618: A fever following the birth of their second child and died a few days later on 1 November 1838. Following her death, Russell continued to raise his late wife's four children from her first marriage, as well their two daughters. On 20 July 1841 Russell remarried, to Lady Frances ("Fanny") Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound , daughter of Russell's cabinet colleague Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Earl of Minto . Together they had four children: In 1847 Queen Victoria granted Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park to Lord and Lady John. It remained their family home for
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#17327722507182172-413: A firmer grip on the organisation of the war, but these suggestions came to nothing. In January 1855, after a series of military setbacks, a Commons motion was brought by the radical MP John Roebuck to appoint a select committee to investigate the management of the war. Russell, not wishing to vote against an inquiry he believed was badly needed, resigned from the cabinet in order to abstain. Aberdeen viewed
2353-457: A focus for pastoral care and social and sporting activities, as well as accommodation for boarders. All day houses are mixed-sex, and all houses admit girls; RR is the only boarding house not to admit girls as boarders (up until 2020) and PP does not admit boys as boarders. All King's Scholars, both boys and girls, are required to board in College (unless under exceptional circumstances). Wren's
2534-400: A foreign government. On 19 February Russell voted in favour of Thomas Milner Gibson's motion, which criticised the government for bowing to French demands. When the motion passed by 19 votes Palmerston's government resigned. In 1859, following another short-lived Conservative government, Palmerston and Russell made up their differences, and Russell consented to serve as Foreign Secretary in
2715-650: A future session. However, with the fall of the Aberdeen government the following year, it would be 12 years before Russell had another chance to introduce a reform bill. Together with Palmerston, Russell supported the government taking a hard line against Russian territorial ambitions in the Ottoman Empire , a policy that ultimately resulted in Britain's entry into the Crimean War in March 1854, an outcome that
2896-399: A greater emphasis on building healthy relationships. The report also recommended training for housemasters, matrons, and tutors on managing pastoral issues including mental health. Other recommendations include a behavioural code of conduct for students informed by the student body. In 2020, more than 250 alumni signed a letter lobbying the school to combat the "toxic culture of racism within
3077-457: A historic joint claim to a major role in developing Association Football. During the 1840s at both Westminster and Charterhouse , pupils' surroundings meant they were confined to playing their football in the cloisters , making the rough and tumble of the handling game that was developing at other schools such as Rugby impossible, and necessitating a new code of rules. On 24 November 1858, Westminster played Dingley Dell at Vincent Square in
3258-647: A large role in democratising the government of cities outside of London. In 1841 the Whigs lost the general election to the Conservatives and Russell and his colleagues returned to opposition. In November 1845, following the failure of that year's potato harvest across Britain and Ireland, Russell came out in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws and called upon the Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel to take urgent action to alleviate
3439-578: A leading role in the repeal of the Test Acts which discriminated against Catholics and Protestant dissenters. He was one of the principal architects of the Reform Act 1832 , which was the first major reform of Parliament since the Restoration , and a significant early step on the road to democracy and away from rule by the aristocracy and landed gentry . He favoured expanding the right to vote to
3620-422: A long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed.". However, each school agreed to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. In 2007, the school responded to an invitation to become the sponsor of Pimlico School , which
3801-471: A long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow
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#17327722507183982-410: A marquess's wife "the marchioness ", an earl's wife "the countess ", a viscount's wife, "the viscountess " and a baron's wife "the baroness ". Despite being referred to as a "peeress", she is a peer by virtue of her marriage; however, this is considered a legal title, as it grants her a legal estate, unlike the social titles of a peer's children. The wives of eldest sons of peers hold their titles on
4163-610: A more ambitious Reform Bill . It has been said that Russell's ministry of 1846–1852 was the ruin of the old Whig party and that his ministry of 1865–1866 was very nearly the ruin of the Liberal Party that took its place. Russell was born on 18 August 1792 into the highest echelons of the British aristocracy, being the third son of John Russell, later 6th Duke of Bedford , and Georgiana Byng, daughter of George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington . The Russell family had been one of
4344-608: A new Palmerston cabinet, usually considered the first true Liberal cabinet. This period was a particularly eventful one in the world outside Britain, seeing the Unification of Italy (the change of British government to one sympathetic to Italian nationalism had a marked part in this process), the American Civil War , and the 1864 war over Schleswig-Holstein between Denmark and the German states . Russell arranged
4525-475: A noted philosopher and who in later life recalled his elderly grandfather as "a kindly old man in a wheelchair." Earl Russell died at home at Pembroke Lodge on 28 May 1878. The Prime Minister, the Earl of Beaconsfield , offered a public funeral and burial at Westminster Abbey for Russell but this was declined by Countess Russell in accordance with her late husband's wish to be buried among his family and ancestors. He
4706-426: A number of fields by professionals who do not hold doctoral degrees. It is commonly used in this manner by physicians, including dentists, unless their specialty is surgery). The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons also allows the use of "Doctor" as a courtesy title by its members, though they must make clear in writing that they are vets and not physicians of human medicine or holders of academic doctorates to ensure
4887-467: A pro-Palmerston Whig candidate. Palmerston's triumph was short-lived. In February 1858 the Government rushed through a Conspiracy to Murder bill, following the attempted assassination of Napoleon III by Italian nationalist Felice Orsini - an attack planned in Britain using British-made explosives. Russell attacked the bill, which he saw as undermined traditional British political liberties to appease
5068-458: A relatively junior minister, as a vocal advocate for Parliamentary reform for over a decade, Russell became a principal leader in the fight for the Reform Act 1832 . He was one of the committee of four tasked by Grey with drafting the reform bill, alongside cabinet ministers Lord Durham , Lord Duncannon and Sir James Graham . Despite not yet being in the Cabinet, Russell was chosen to introduce
5249-459: A select committee inquiry. When the motion passed on 3 March, Palmerston dissolved Parliament and went to the country. In the subsequent general election Palmerston was swept back into power on a tide of patriotic feeling with an increased majority. Many of Palmerston's critics lost their seats but Russell hung on in the City of London, after fighting off an attempt to deselect him and replace him with
5430-511: A series of seven Acts through Parliament, which together reduced the number of offences carrying a sentence of death from thirty-seven to sixteen. This number was reduced further by the Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841 . After these reforms the death penalty was rarely used in the United Kingdom for crimes other than murder. As Home Secretary Russell also introduced the public registration for births, marriages and deaths and played
5611-549: A style relating to her new husband. On 21 August 1996, letters patent changed titles of divorced wives of British princes , depriving their former wives of the style of Royal Highness . For this reason Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales after divorce became Diana, Princess of Wales . The same happened to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York , who became Sarah, Duchess of York . Civil partners of someone using
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5792-476: A substantive title). Lord Arundel's eldest son (should he have one during his father's lifetime) would be styled "Lord Maltravers". However, only the Duke of Norfolk is actually a peer; his son Lord Arundel and his hypothetical grandson Lord Maltravers are not. Courtesy titles are used by the peer's eldest living son, and the eldest son's eldest living son, and so forth, only; other descendants are not permitted to use
5973-828: A surname or a territorial name. All Senators of the College have the honorific the Honourable before their titles, while those who are also Privy Counsellors or peers have the honorific the Right Honourable . Senators are made Privy Counsellors upon promotion to the Inner House. For example, Alexander Wylie is known as the Honourable Lord Kinclaven , while Ronald Mackay is known as the Right Honourable Lord Eassie . Some Senators also hold peerage titles, such as
6154-906: A venue for major musical concerts. College Garden , to the East of Little Dean's Yard, is believed to be the oldest garden in England, under continuous cultivation for about a millennium. Just beyond rises the Victoria Tower of the Houses of Parliament ; the King's Scholars have special rights of access to the House of Commons . To the North, the Dark Cloister leads straight to the Abbey, which serves as
6335-430: A very common practice for peeresses (not being peeresses in their own right) after marrying commoners to retain the title lost by such marriage. It is not a matter of right. It is merely a matter of courtesy, and allowed by the usages of society." The divorce court, in the above case, granted the earl an injunction preventing his former wife from using his title; however, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal , and this
6516-408: A woman may keep the same style as during marriage or she may choose to assume the style "Mrs [ given name ] [ husband's surname ]". Regardless of what she chooses, she loses all precedence acquired from marriage and, because of the former option, there can be multiple Ladies John Smith at any one time. Until 2004, children who had been adopted by peers had no right to any courtesy titles. Pursuant to
6697-469: Is Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice , who married the untitled knight (or baronet) Sir Louis de Bourgh and, therefore, retains her courtesy style. The daughter of a viscount or baron who marries a commoner is styled "the Honourable [ given name ] [ husband's surname ]". Any woman who marries a peer uses the feminine version of his peerage title, even if her own precedence is higher than his, as in
6878-406: Is added before the person's given name, as in the examples Lady Diana Spencer and Lady Henrietta Waldegrave . Because it is merely a courtesy with no legal implications, the honorific persists after the death of the holder's father, but it is not inherited by her children. The style is never used immediately before the surname alone. "Lady" is also used before the first name of Ladies Companion of
7059-572: Is buried at the 'Bedford Chapel' at St. Michael's Church , Chenies , Buckinghamshire. Scion of one of the most powerful aristocratic families, Russell was a leading reformer who weakened the power of the aristocracy. His great achievements, wrote A. J. P. Taylor , were based on his persistent battles in Parliament over the years on behalf of the expansion of liberty; after each loss he tried again and again, until finally, his efforts were largely successful. E. L. Woodward , however, argued that he
7240-546: Is further away, just off Smith Square . As part of an expansion programme funded by donations and a legacy from A. A. Milne , the school has acquired the nearby Millicent Fawcett Hall for Drama and Theatre Studies lessons and performances; the Manoukian Centre for Music Lessons (timetabled and private) and recitals; and the Weston Building at 3 Dean's Yard. It often uses St John's, Smith Square as
7421-655: Is included in The Schools Index of the world's 150 best private schools and among top 30 senior schools in the UK. Among its graduates are three Nobel laureates: Edgar Adrian ( Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1932), Sir Andrew Huxley (likewise in 1963) and Sir Richard Stone ( Nobel Prize in Economics in 1984). During the mid-17th century, the liberal philosopher of the Enlightenment , John Locke , attended
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7602-490: Is known as "Westminster Latin", and descends from medieval English scholastic pronunciation : Queen Elizabeth I, who spoke fluent Latin, commanded that Latin was not to be said "in the monkish fashion", a significant warning upon loyalties between Church and State. Since the monastic Christmas revels of medieval times, Latin plays have been presented by Scholars, with a prologue and witty epilogue on contemporary events. Annual plays, "either tragedy or comedy", were required by
7783-418: Is not inherited by any of his children. The wife of the holder is entitled to the feminine form of her husband's style, which takes the form of "Lady" followed by her husband's given name and surname, as in the example of Lady Randolph Churchill . The holder is addressed as "Lord Randolph" and his wife as "Lady Randolph". The courtesy style of "Lady" is used for the daughters of dukes, marquesses, and earls. It
7964-603: Is often referred to as John Smith, Esq., commonly called Lord John Smith ; the Hon. Mrs Smith would be called Mary Jane, Mrs Smith, commonly called the Hon. Mary Jane Smith . Only peers in attendance at Parliament enjoy statutory precedence. There is, however, official precedence accorded at the Court of St James's that results from being the wife or child of a peer, and to which social styles are attached. The wives of peers, however, are peeresses and legally enjoy their titles in exactly
8145-469: Is one) is not styled "Marquess of Westminster", as this would cause confusion between son and father, and so the former is styled "Earl Grosvenor" instead. The title used does not have to be exactly equivalent to the actual peerage. For example, the eldest son of the Duke of Wellington is usually styled " Marquess of Douro ", although the actual peerage possessed by his father is Marquess Douro (no "of" between
8326-402: Is placed at the end of his or her name (for example, John Smith of Edinburgh, Younger, or John Smith, Younger of Edinburgh). The wife of a Younger may herself place the title at the end of her name. The holder is addressed as the younger (for example, The Younger of Edinburgh). The courtesy prefix of "Maid" is granted to the eldest daughter of a Scottish baron . If the eldest daughter is also
8507-546: Is styled Lord Dyson . Wives of male Supreme Court justices are styled as if they were wives of peers. Nicholas Wilson, Lord Wilson of Culworth , appointed to the Supreme Court on 26 May 2011, was the first person to use a territorial name with his judicial courtesy title, adopting reference to Culworth in Northamptonshire. The title of " Doctor " (or the abbreviation "Dr") is used as a courtesy title in
8688-481: Is styled " Lord North ". The eldest son of the Earl of Huntingdon , who has no subsidiary titles, is styled " Viscount Hastings " to avoid confusion with Lord Hastings , a substantive peer. The heir of Earl Castle Stewart uses the style "Viscount Stewart" to avoid confusion with Lord Stewart, the eldest son of Viscount Castlereagh (the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry ). The courtesy style of "Lord" before
8869-463: Is the largest private, open green space in Central London, despite this, it is not large enough for all pupils doing these sports to use simultaneously the three football pitches and typically one smaller practice pitch becomes one main cricket square and several smaller practice squares for the cricket season. So the school hires and owns other sporting facilities near the school. These include
9050-618: Is the oldest rowing club in the world, located on the River Thames . The Oxford University Boat Club uses Westminster's boathouse at Putney as its HQ for the annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race on the Thames. The boathouse was remodelled in 1997 and won a Wandsworth design award in 1999. The school's colour is pink; Westminster rowers raced Eton College for the right to wear the colour. One story goes that, at one annual Eton-Westminster rowing race, both crews arrived wearing pink, which
9231-588: The Don Pacifico affair , in which Palmerston sought compensation from the Greek government for the ransacking and the burning of the house of David Pacifico , a Gibraltarian holder of a British passport. Russell considered the matter "hardly worth the interposition of the British lion," and when Palmerston ignored some of his instructions, the Prime Minister wrote to Palmerston telling him he had informed
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#17327722507189412-590: The London Conference of 1864 , but failed to establish peace in the war. His tenure of the Foreign Office was noteworthy for the famous dispatch in which he defended Italian unification: "Her Majesty's Government will turn their eyes rather to the gratifying prospect of a people building up the edifice of their liberties, and consolidating the work of their independence, amid the sympathies and good wishes of Europe" (27 October 1860). In 1861 Russell
9593-418: The Marquess of Lansdowne are alternately "Earl of Kerry" and "Earl of Shelburne", whereas heirs to the Earl of Jersey are alternately "Viscount Grandison" and "Viscount Villiers". Titles with the same name as a peer's main title are not used as courtesy titles. For instance, the Duke of Westminster is also Marquess of Westminster and Earl Grosvenor (among other titles). The duke's heir apparent (when there
9774-595: The Order of the Garter and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle who do not hold another, higher title or style. The spouse of a woman with a courtesy style does not hold any courtesy style in right of their spouse; neither does the husband of a person with any style or title (including the husband of a peer). Younger sons of earls, along with all sons and daughters of viscounts, barons and lords of parliament, are accorded
9955-466: The Palace of Westminster . In 2011, the school agreed to buy a 999-year lease of Lawrence Hall, London from The Royal Horticultural Society . This listed Art-Deco building adjacent to the school's playing fields at Vincent Square has been converted into a Sports Centre. It provides for climbing, martial arts, fencing, rowing, table tennis, badminton, netball, indoor football and indoor cricket. In 2012
10136-491: The Reform Act 1832 as a one-off measure to re-balance the constitution, after twenty years he had become convinced of the need for further electoral reform. In February 1854 Russell introduced his bill to the House. The property qualification was to be reduced from £10 to £6 in boroughs, and from £50 to £10 in the counties. Additionally 66 seats would be removed from undersized constituencies and redistributed. The second reading of
10317-510: The bull Universalis Ecclesiae . By this bull Pius unilaterally reintroduced Catholic bishops to England and Wales for the first time since the Reformation . Anti-Catholic feelings ran high with many Protestants incensed at what they saw as impertinent foreign interference in the prerogative of the established Church of England to appoint bishops. Russell, not withstanding his long record of advocating civil liberties for Catholics, shared
10498-415: The heir presumptive she may either hold the title "Younger" or the title "Maid". The title is customary and not automatically given. The title is placed at the end of the name (for example, Miss Alice Joy, Maid of Newcastle). The holder is addressed as "The Maid of [ Barony ]". The courtesy titles and styles of children of peers are social, not legal. For this reason, in official documents, Lord John Smith
10679-443: The middle classes and enfranchising Britain's growing industrial towns and cities, but he never advocated universal suffrage and he opposed the secret ballot. Russell was outspoken on many issues over the course of his career, advocating Catholic emancipation in the 1820s, calling for the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1845, denouncing Pope Pius IX 's revival of Catholic bishoprics in 1850, and supporting Italian unification during
10860-636: The "Majesty Scutcheon " (white satin banner) draped on the coffin, which is now held in the library (it was given to the school by his family three hundred years later). Busby remained in office throughout the Civil War and the Commonwealth, when the school was governed by Parliamentary Commissioners, and well into the Restoration. In 1679, a group of scholars killed a bailiff, ostensibly in defence of Abbey's traditional right of sanctuary after
11041-457: The 1860s. Russell's ministerial career spanned four decades. In addition to his two terms as prime minister, between 1831 and 1865 he served in the cabinets of Earl Grey , Viscount Melbourne , the Earl of Aberdeen , and Viscount Palmerston . Russell's relationship with Palmerston was often stormy and contributed to bringing down Russell's first government in 1852 and Palmerston's first government in 1858. However, their renewed alliance from 1859
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#173277225071811222-596: The 662 seats in the Commons but were able to carry on in office due to divisions among the opposition. Negotiations over a Whig-Peelite coalition stalled over the question of who would lead it. Russell's authority and popularity within the Whigs had been dented by his falling out with Palmerston, who flatly refused to serve under him again. Moreover he had alienated many in the Peelites and the Irish Brigade, who held
11403-639: The British government's relations with the papacy and the Catholic clergy in Ireland, which he saw as one of the keys to making Ireland a more willing part of the United Kingdom. Russell proposed to make an annual grant of £340,000 to the Catholic Church in Ireland, with the aim of ameliorating Irish Catholic opinion towards the Union . In 1847, Russell's father-in-law the Earl of Minto was dispatched on
11584-455: The Cabinet resigned over the issue, weakening the government's hold on Parliament. Sensing that his position was now hopeless, Grey offered his resignation to the King in July, and was replaced by Viscount Melbourne at the head of the government. In November 1834, when the leader of the Commons, Lord Althorp , succeeded to the peerage as Earl Spencer , Russell became the leader of the Whigs in
11765-714: The Chair of the Governing Body until 2020 and remains a Governor. There followed a scandalous public and parliamentary dispute lasting a further 25 years, to settle the transfer of the properties from the Canons of the Abbey to the school. School statutes have been made by Order in Council of Queen Elizabeth II . The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford , and the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge , were also ex officio members of
11946-472: The China Institute at SOAS London , was quoted in the Financial Times as saying, "I think they have no idea what they're dealing with.... If you set up a school in China, they will have a party secretary superintending the whole school and the party secretary will be responsible for political education." The school responded that it would exercise "soft power" over the teaching and would also teach an international curriculum for students aged 16–18. The issue
12127-456: The Colonies from 1839 to 1841. Through this period, he continued to lead the more reformist wing of the Whig party. As Home Secretary, Russell recommended and secured royal pardons for the Tolpuddle Martyrs and partial commutation of their sentences. In 1836, he introduced the Marriages Act , which introduced civil marriages in England and Wales and allowed Catholics and Protestant Dissenters to marry in their own churches. In 1837, he steered
12308-508: The Commons. Russell's appointment prompted King William IV to terminate Melbourne's government, in part because the King objected to Russell's views on the Irish Church. This remains the last time in British history that a monarch has dismissed a government. The subsequent minority Conservative government lasted less than five months before resigning in April 1835. Russell then returned to office as Home Secretary in Melbourne's second government , before serving as Secretary of State for War and
12489-586: The Conservatives, but remained a minority, with Russell's government still dependent on the votes of Peelite and Irish Repealer MPs to win divisions in the Commons. Russell's political agenda was frequently frustrated by his lack of a reliable Commons majority. However, his government was able to secure a number of notable social reforms. Russell introduced teachers' pensions and used Orders in Council to make grants for teacher training. The Public Baths and Wash-houses Acts of 1847 and 1848 enabled local authorities to build municipal baths and washing facilities for
12670-422: The Duke and Duchess of Richmond, was immediately elevated to Lady Naomi Gordon-Lennox on 30 April 2004. Scottish peerages' rules for courtesy titles and styles differ. Occasionally, a peer succeeds to a peerage upon the death of a relative who is not one of his or her parents. When this happens, the relatives of the new peer may be allowed to use the courtesy titles or styles which would have been accorded them if
12851-419: The Government's support in the Commons, and the Peelites only around 40. However, he came to admire some of his Peelite colleagues, particularly the Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone , who would go on to become an important political ally in later years. With Aberdeen's agreement, Russell used his position as Leader of the House of Commons to push for a new Reform Act. Although Russell had promoted
13032-484: The Head Master, William Vincent , fenced off and ordered the ploughing of the waste marshlands known as Tothill Fields for use by the school, which were being threatened by London's urban sprawl , the school's main sports ground has been nearby at Vincent Square , with football and cricket on the main area and tennis and netball on the courts; it also hosts a playground for Westminster Under School. At 13 acres, it
13213-498: The Head of House might draw up teams. Further to these positions, each day house has an Assistant Housemaster, and each boarding house has a Resident Tutor. The houses are named after people connected to the house or school in various ways – mainly prominent Old Westminsters, but also former Head Masters and Housemasters. Grant's is the oldest house for pupils other than scholars, not only of Westminster but of any public school. Houses are
13394-530: The House of Commons until he was made an earl in 1861 and was elevated to the House of Lords. Russell was born two months premature and was small and sickly as a child (even in adulthood he remained under 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height, and his small stature was frequently the butt of jokes by political opponents and caricaturists). In 1801 at the age of nine he was sent away to school. Shortly thereafter his mother died. After being withdrawn from Westminster School in 1804 due to ill health, Russell
13575-494: The House of Commons, meaning he was unable to carry out much of his agenda. During his first premiership, his government failed to deal effectively with the Irish Famine , a disaster that saw the loss of a quarter of Ireland's population through death and emigration. During his second premiership, he split his party by pressing for further parliamentary reform and was forced from office only to watch Derby and Disraeli carry
13756-411: The House of Commons, which would have obliged the Government to resign. The Government prevailed, but Palmerston came out of the affair with his popularity at new heights since he was seen as the champion of defending British subjects anywhere in the world. Russell forced Palmerston to resign as Foreign Secretary after Palmerston recognised Napoleon III 's coup of 2 December 1851 without first consulting
13937-539: The House of Commons. It was the bitter split in the Conservative Party over the Corn Laws that allowed Russell's government to remain in power in spite of this, with Sir Robert Peel and his supporters offering tentative support to the new ministry in order to keep the protectionist Conservatives under Lord Stanley in opposition. At the general election of August 1847 the Whigs made gains at the expense of
14118-594: The King's Scholars, and the Big Commem, to which the whole school community is invited. The King's Scholars have privileged access to the House of Commons gallery, said to be a compromise recorded in the Standing Orders of the House in the 19th century, to stop the boys from climbing into the Palace over the roofs. Despite the formal separation from the abbey, the school remains Anglican , with services in
14299-590: The Latin prologue. The 1938 play caused a diplomatic incident, with the German ambassador withdrawing offended by the words Magna Germania figuring in extenso on a map of Europe displayed. There is a Westminster jargon little known to the general public: The school has three Eton Fives courts behind Ashburnham House . The school frequently fields pupils as national entries in international competitions in rowing , or "water", and fencing. Westminster School Boat Club
14480-694: The Marchioness of London" becomes "The Most Hon. the Dowager Marchioness of London". If a widowed peeress's son predeceases her, her daughter-in-law does not use the title of Dowager, but is styled, for instance, "The Most Hon. Mary, Marchioness of London" until her mother-in-law dies, at which point she may use the title of "Dowager Marchioness". In more recent times, some widows have chosen to be styled with their first names, instead of as Dowager – for example, "Octavia, Lady Baden-Powell" ("Lady Octavia Baden-Powell" would incorrectly imply that she
14661-477: The Palace of Westminster meant that politicians were well aware of boys' exploits. After the Public Schools Act 1868 , in response to the Clarendon Commission on the financial and other malpractices at nine pre-eminent public schools, the school began to approach its modern form. It was legally separated from the Abbey, although the organisations remain close. The Dean of Westminster was ex officio
14842-539: The Peelite Lord Aberdeen . Lansdowne declined the Queen's invitation, pleading ill-health and so Aberdeen was tasked with forming a government. Russell, as the leader of the Whigs, agreed to bring his party into a coalition with the Peelites, headed by Aberdeen. As the leader of the largest party in the coalition, Russell was reluctant to serve under Aberdeen in a subordinate position, but agreed to take on
15023-449: The Queen or Cabinet. Russell tried to strengthen his government by recruiting leading Peelites such as Sir James Graham and the Duke of Newcastle to his administration, but they declined. Out of office, Palmerston sought revenge by turning a vote on a militia bill into a vote of confidence in the Government. A majority vote in favour of an amendment proposed by Palmerston caused the downfall of Russell's ministry on 21 February 1852. This
15204-474: The Queen that he "thought the interests of the country required that a change should take place at the Foreign Department." However, less than a month later Lord Stanley successfully led the House of Lords into passing a motion of censure of the Government over its handling of the affair and Russell realised that he needed to align with Palmerston in order to prevent a similar motion being passed by
15385-591: The Right Honourable the Lady Clark of Calton , and these would be used in place of judicial titles. On creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, the first Justices already held life peerages as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary , and continued to hold them. The government announced that future appointees would not be created peers. The first non-peer appointed to the Supreme Court
15566-524: The Roebuck motion as a vote of no confidence in his leadership and, accordingly, when it passed by 305-148, he resigned. In the eyes of many, including the Queen and Aberdeen, Russell's temperamental behaviour and personal ambition had undermined the stability of the coalition. On visiting Windsor Castle to resign, Aberdeen told the Queen "Had it not been for the incessant attempts of Lord John Russell to keep up party differences, it must be acknowledged that
15747-582: The School Chapel. The playing fields are half a mile away at Vincent Square , which Dean Vincent created for the school by hiring a horse and plough to carve 10 acres (40,000 m ) out of the open Tothill Fields. The boathouse is now some way from the school at Putney , where it is also used for the Oxford and Cambridge boat race ; but the school's First Eight still returns annually to exercise its traditional right to land at Black Rod Steps of
15928-541: The Sixth Form at 16. About a quarter of the 750 pupils board . Weekly boarders may go home after Saturday morning school. The earliest records of a school at Westminster date back to the 1340s and are held in Westminster Abbey's Muniment Room. Parts of the buildings now used by the school date back to the tenth-century Anglo-Saxon abbey at Westminster. In 1540, Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of
16109-574: The Under School from the Great School. Members of the school fight for the pancake for one minute, watched over by the Dean of Westminster, the Head Master, and the upper year groups of the school and distinguished or even occasionally royal visitors. The pupil who gets the largest weight is awarded a gold sovereign (promptly redeemed for use next year), and the Dean begs for a half-holiday for
16290-490: The United Kingdom If a peer of one of the top three ranks of the peerage (a duke , a marquess or an earl ) has more than one title, his eldest son – himself not a peer – may use one of his father's lesser titles "by courtesy". However, the father continues to be the substantive holder of the peerage title, and the son is using the title by courtesy only, unless issued a writ of acceleration . The eldest son of
16471-482: The United Kingdom." The Act was widely ignored without consequences and only served to further alienate Irish MPs, thereby weakening the government's position in the Commons. Russell frequently clashed with his headstrong Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston , whose belligerence and support for continental revolution he found embarrassing. In 1847 Palmerston provoked a confrontation with the French government by undermining
16652-713: The abbey attended by the entire school at least twice a week, and many other voluntary-attendance services of worship. The school was expressly exempted by the Act of Uniformity to allow it to continue saying Latin prayers despite the Reformation . Every Wednesday there is an assembly Up School known as Latin Prayers, which opens with the Head Master leading all members of the school in chanting prayers in Latin , followed by notices in English. The school's unique pronunciation of formal Latin
16833-404: The age of 11 and Jeremy Bentham from the age of eight. The Under School has since moved to Vincent Square , overlooking the school's playing fields. Its current Master is Kate Jefferson. In 1967, the first female pupil was admitted to the school. Girls became full members in 1973. In 1981, a single-sex boarding house, Purcell's, was created for girls. In 1997 the school expanded further with
17014-627: The backbenches on the issues he most cared about - lobbying for increased government grants for education and for reduction in the property qualification for Parliamentary elections. In early 1857 Russell became a vocal critic of Palmerston's government over the Anglo-Persian War and the Second Opium War . Russell spoke in support of a motion tabled by Richard Cobden , which criticised British military action in China and calling for
17195-409: The balance of power in the Commons, leaving them unwilling to support another Russell-led government. Palmerston proposed Lord Lansdowne as a compromise candidate. This was acceptable to Russell but Lansdowne was reluctant to take on the burdens of leading a government. The defeat of Disraeli's Budget in December 1852 forced the issue. Derby's government resigned and the Queen sent for Lansdowne and
17376-584: The bill in March 1831 and over the following year he successfully steered the Reform Act's difficult progress through the Commons. Russell earned the nickname "Finality Jack" from his pronouncing the Act a final measure but in later years he would go on to push for further reform of Parliament. In May 1834, Russell made a speech on the Irish Tithes bill, in which he argued that the revenue generated by tithes
17557-459: The bill was amended by Parliament to stipulate that the Pope's ambassador must be a layman . The Pope refused to accept such a restriction on his choice of representative and so the exchange of ambassadors did not take place. It would not be until 1914 that formal UK-Vatican diplomatic relations were finally established. Relations with the papacy soured badly in late 1850 after Pope Pius IX issued
17738-427: The bill was set for March 1854, but the prospect of imminent war with Russia led to it being postponed until April. After the outbreak of war on 28 March Russell came under pressure from the cabinet to withdraw the bill entirely. Russell threatened to resign if the cabinet abandoned the reform bill, but he was convinced to stay on by Aberdeen, who promised that he would support the reform bill if Russell reintroduced it in
17919-504: The case of a duke's daughter marrying a baron, because a peerage is a substantive title, the usage of which is preferred to any courtesy style – unless she marries into the British royal family . If a woman marries a younger son of a duke or marquess, she becomes "Lady [ husband's full name ]". If she marries a younger son of an earl, or any son of a viscount or a baron, she becomes "the Hon. Mrs [ husband's full name ]". In cases of divorce,
18100-475: The courtesy style of " the Honourable " before their name; one example is Vita Sackville-West . This is usually abbreviated to "the Hon.". The style persists after the death of the holder's father, but it may not be inherited by the holder's children. It is used only in third person reference, not in speaking to the person. A daughter of a duke, marquess or earl who marries an untitled man becomes "Lady [ given name ] [ husband's surname ]"; an example from fiction
18281-524: The creation of a new day house, Milne's, at 5a, Dean's Yard. In 2005 the school was one of 50 leading independent schools found guilty of running a cartel, exposed by The Times , which had allowed them to collaborate in uncompetitive fees for thousands of customers. Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following
18462-443: The culture around race, ethnicity and cultural diversity and consider how it can better engage with these issues in the future. The review's authors were led by Femi Otitoju who found evidence that international pupils including British Asian, British Black, Chinese and Jewish pupils "recounted a lack of sensitivity and delays in responding to emotions they experienced when calling out unacceptable behaviour". 25 recommendations included
18643-452: The date that the school was "founded". Elizabeth I appointed William Camden as Head Master, and he is the only layman known to have held the position until 1937. It was Richard Busby , himself an Old Westminster, who established the reputation of the school for several hundred years, as much by his classical learning as for his ruthless discipline by the birch , immortalised in Pope 's Dunciad . Busby prayed publicly up School for
18824-508: The duty of paying rates (taxes) to the local Anglican parish. His political clumsiness and opposition to Church finance made him a target of attack and ridicule in many Church circles. Following the death of their daughter-in-law Viscountess Amberley in 1874 and their son Viscount Amberley in 1876, Earl Russell and Countess Russell brought up their orphaned grandchildren, John ("Frank") Russell , who became 2nd Earl Russell on his grandfather's death, and Bertrand Russell who would go on to become
19005-570: The earliest known football fixture in the London area (Dingley Dell was the most active non-school team in the London area in the five years before the Football Association was established in 1863). During the formulation of the rules of Association Football in the 1860s, representatives of Westminster School and Charterhouse also pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College , Harrow , and Shrewsbury School ) favoured
19186-431: The eldest son of a duke or marquess may use a still lower title, if one exists. In legal documents, the courtesy title is implied, but not used directly – that is, the name of the person is given, followed by "commonly called [ title ]". For example, the Duke of Norfolk is also Earl of Arundel and Baron Maltravers . His eldest son is, therefore, styled "Earl of Arundel" ("the" does not precede it, as this would indicate
19367-638: The eldest son of an earl, though he may be a courtesy peer, she may keep her rank until the son inherits the earldom, when she must drop to the rank of countess. In Scotland, Senators of the College of Justice (the judges of the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary as well as the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court ) traditionally use the title Lord or Lady along with
19548-408: The eldest son of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry is styled " Earl of Dalkeith ", even though the duke is also Marquess of Dumfriesshire , a title that outranks the earldom. Similarly, the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry is styled " Viscount Castlereagh ", even though the marquess is also Earl Vane . In a few houses, successive heirs alternate between two courtesy titles. Heirs to
19729-507: The election of Lionel de Rothschild in the 1847 general election, Russell introduced a Jewish Relief bill, which would have allowed Rothschild and other Jews to sit in the House of Commons without their having to take the explicitly Christian oath of allegiance. In 1848, the bill was passed by the House of Commons, receiving support from the Whigs and a minority of Conservatives (including future prime minister Benjamin Disraeli ). However, it
19910-433: The emerging food crisis. Peel had by this time already become convinced of the need for repeal, but he was opposed in this by the majority of his own cabinet and party. On 11 December 1845, frustrated by his party's unwillingness to support him on repeal, Peel resigned as prime minister and Queen Victoria invited Russell to form a new government. With the Whigs a minority in the Commons however, Russell struggled to assemble
20091-535: The exception the 1806-1807 coalition government in which Russell's father had served, the Whigs had been out of power since 1783, and Russell could have had no certain expectation of a ministerial career. In June 1815, Russell denounced the Bourbon Restoration and Britain's declaration of war against the recently-returned Napoleon by arguing in the House of Commons that foreign powers had no right to dictate France's form of government. In 1817, tired of
20272-400: The experiment of a coalition had succeeded admirably," an assessment with which the Queen agreed. Russell accepted an invitation from the Queen to form a new government but found that he could not assemble the necessary support, with many of his colleagues having been angered by his abandonment of Aberdeen over the Roebuck motion. Palmerston became prime minister, and Russell reluctantly accepted
20453-573: The first opened in Chengdu in 2020. Revenue generated by the deal will be used to support bursary funds at the existing school, and follows similar moves by Harrow School , Malvern School , Wellington College and Dulwich College . The school was criticized in the media and by its pupils for its decision to teach the Chinese national curriculum as opposed to an international curriculum normally taught by international schools. Steve Tsang, director of
20634-451: The former emperor's exile at Elba . Russell entered the House of Commons as a Whig in 1813 at the age of 20. The future reformer gained his seat by virtue of his father, the Duke of Bedford , instructing the 30 or so electors of Tavistock to return him as an MP even though at the time Russell was abroad and under age. Russell entered Parliament more out of a sense of duty and family tradition than out of serious political ambition. With
20815-422: The given name is accorded to younger sons of dukes and marquesses. It is always added before the person's given name and surname , as in the example of Lord Randolph Churchill , although conversational usage drops the surname on secondary reference. It is never used before the person's surname alone, and is not considered a "title" under peerage law. The title persists after the death of the holder's father, but
20996-728: The growing urban working classes. Russell lent his support to the passage of the Factories Act 1847 , which restricted the working hours of women and young persons (aged 13–18) in textile mills to 10 hours per day. 1848 saw the introduction of the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers and the Public Health Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63), by which the state assumed responsibility for sewerage, clean water supply, refuse collection and other aspects of public health across much of England and Wales. Following
21177-561: The headquarters of the Church of England , is situated, along with some of the houses, the common room, the humanities building Weston's, and College Hall. Just outside the abbey precincts in Great College Street is Sutcliff's (named after the tuck shop on the site of the building in the 19th century), where Geography, Art, Theology, Philosophy and Classics (Latin and Ancient Greek) are taught. The Robert Hooke Science Centre
21358-418: The husband of Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone has no courtesy title; he was simply called "Mr Peter Bottomley " until he was knighted and became "Sir Peter Bottomley". In 2012, Conservative MP Oliver Colvile put forward a Ten Minute Rule bill to allow the spouse of a woman who holds an honour, if he or she enters civil partnership or marriage, to assume the style the Honourable . This bill stalled, and
21539-544: The king/queen!") are incorporated into the coronation anthem " I was glad ". The tradition dates back to the coronation of King James II . The School commemorates its benefactors every year with a service in Westminster Abbey in Latin in which the Captain of the King's Scholars lays a wreath of pink roses on the tomb of Elizabeth I: the service alternates between Little Commem, held in Henry VII's Chapel and involving just
21720-522: The local landlords, some of whom in turn attempted to reduce their liability by evicting their tenants. In June 1847, the Poor Law Extension Act was passed, which embodied the principle, popular in Britain, that Irish property should support Irish poverty. Irish landlords were believed in Britain to have created the conditions that led to the famine, a view which Russell shared. In the first half of his premiership Russell aimed to improve
21901-404: The man had arrested a person connected to the college. Busby obtained a royal pardon for his scholars from Charles II and added the cost to the school bills. Until the 19th century, the curriculum was predominantly made up of Latin and Greek, and all taught up School. Westminster boys were uncontrolled outside school hours and notoriously unruly about town, but the proximity of the school to
22082-555: The middle of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret's, and the Palace of Westminster, has several buildings notable for qualities, age and history. The Greaze has been held "up School" (in the School Hall) on Shrove Tuesday since at least 1753. The head cook ceremoniously tosses a horsehair-reinforced pancake over a high bar, which was used from the 16th century to curtain off
22263-479: The monasteries in England, including that of the powerful Abbots of Westminster, but personally ensured the School's survival by his royal charter. The Royal College of St. Peter carried on with forty "King's Scholars" financed from the royal purse. By this point Westminster School had certainly become a public school (i.e. a school available to members of the paying public, rather than the private tuition arranged by
22444-528: The more cautious Aberdeen had hoped to avoid. In the following months Russell grew frustrated by what he saw as a lack of effective war leadership by Aberdeen and the Secretary of State for War , the Duke of Newcastle . Dispatches from the front reported that the army was suffering from supply shortages and a lack of adequate accommodation and medical facilities. In November 1854 Russell urged Aberdeen to replace Newcastle with Palmerston, who he believed would get
22625-520: The most degraded and most miserable country in the world...all the world is crying shame upon us." In January 1847, the government abandoned this policy, realising that it had failed, and turned to a mixture of "indoor" and "outdoor" direct relief; the former administered in workhouses through the Irish Poor Laws , the latter through soup kitchens . The costs of the Poor Law fell primarily on
22806-411: The necessary support. When Lord Grey declared that he would not serve in cabinet if Lord Palmerston was made Foreign Secretary, it became clear to Russell that he could not form a viable government. Russell declined the Queen's invitation on 21 December and Peel agreed to stay on as prime minister. In June 1846, Peel repealed the Corn Laws with Whig support, bitterly dividing the Conservative Party in
22987-456: The new peer had succeeded a parent or grandparent in the title. For instance, Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley succeeded his childless uncle in 2002. His brother George had no title, as their father was only a younger son of a peer and never inherited (as heir presumptive ) the Baron de Mauley title. However, in 2003, George was granted, by warrant of precedence from Queen Elizabeth II ,
23168-417: The nobility). During Mary I 's reign the Abbey was reinstated as a Roman Catholic monastery, but the school continued. Elizabeth I refounded the school in 1560, with new statutes to select 40 King's Scholars from boys who had attended the school for a year. Queen Elizabeth frequently visited her scholars, although she never signed the statutes or endowed her scholarships; 1560 is now generally taken as
23349-627: The oldest boating club in the world, an astroturf ground in Battersea, and the Queen Mother Sports Centre, home to a variety of sports. "Green" (Dean's Yard) is also used, and the three Eton Fives courts in Ashburnham Garden, the garden behind Ashburnham House. Westminster played in the first school cricket match against Charterhouse School in 1794 and from 1796 played cricket against Eton. Westminster has
23530-578: The others being boarding houses with a mix of boarders and day pupils. College is the exception to this — all King's Scholars must board. Each house has a Housemaster, a teacher who is responsible for the house, the pupils in it and their welfare, and a Head of House , a pupil in the Remove, nominated by the Housemaster. The role of the Head of House largely consists of assisting the Housemaster in organising activities such as house competitions, for which
23711-434: The peer's subsidiary titles . Only the heir apparent (and heir apparent to the heir apparent, and so on) may use them. An heir presumptive (for instance, a brother, nephew, or cousin) does not use a courtesy title. However, Scottish practice allows the style Master/Mistress of X to an heir presumptive as well as to an heir apparent; for example, the brother of the present Marquess of Tweeddale , Lord Alistair Hay , has
23892-527: The plans of the Spanish court to marry the young Spanish Queen and her sister into the French royal family. He subsequently clashed with Russell over plans to increase the size of the army and the navy to defend against the perceived threat of French invasion, which subsided after the overthrow of the French king in 1848. In 1850, further tension arose between the two over Palmerston's gunboat diplomacy in
24073-471: The practice had been legal and that the commission had not been aware of the change to the law. Two independent reviews were commissioned after national campaigns from Everyone's Invited and Black Lives Matter unearthed evidence of rape culture and racism at Westminster School. In March 2022, the school issued a "sincere and unreserved" apology for harm caused by racism, sexual harassment and other harmful sexual behaviour. In March 2021, alumni compiled
24254-402: The principal Whig dynasties in England since the 17th century, and were among the richest handful of aristocratic landowning families in the country, but as a younger son of the 6th Duke of Bedford , he was not expected to inherit the family estates. As a younger son of a duke, he bore the courtesy title "Lord John Russell", but he was not a peer in his own right. He was, therefore, able to sit in
24435-405: The process. Later that same night Peel's Irish Coercion Bill was defeated after vengeful anti-repeal Tories voted with the opposition; and Peel, taking this as a vote of no confidence, resigned as prime minister. Russell accepted the Queen's offer to form a government; this time Grey did not object to Palmerston's appointment. Russell took office as prime minister with the Whigs only a minority in
24616-433: The prospect of perpetual opposition, Russell resigned from Parliament. After spending a year out of politics and travelling on the continent, he changed his mind and re-entered Parliament for Tavistock at the 1818 general election . In 1819, Russell embraced the cause of parliamentary reform and he led the more reformist wing of the Whigs throughout the 1820s. In 1828, while still an opposition backbencher , Russell introduced
24797-501: The public are not misled. The title of Captain is used as a courtesy title by shipmasters in the merchant navy who do not hold the military rank of captain. It is also used in oral address for naval officers below the rank of captain who are in command of a ship. Westminster School Westminster School is a public school in Westminster , London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey . It descends from
24978-402: The rank and place). If a peer of the rank of earl or above does not have any subsidiary titles of a name different from his main title, his eldest son usually uses an invented courtesy title of "Lord [ surname ]". For instance, the eldest son of the Earl of Devon is styled " Lord Courtenay ", even though the earl has no barony of that name; similarly, the eldest son of the Earl of Guilford
25159-489: The rest of their lives. Russell was religious in a simple non-dogmatic way and supported " broad church " stances in the Church of England. He opposed the " Oxford Movement " because its "Tractarian" members were too dogmatic and too close to Roman Catholicism . He supported Broad Churchmen or Latitudinarians by several appointments of liberal churchmen as bishops. In 1859 he reversed himself and decided to free non-Anglicans of
25340-475: The role of Colonial Secretary in his cabinet. Russell was sent to Vienna to negotiate peace terms with Russia, but his proposals were rejected and he resigned from the cabinet and returned to the backbenches in July 1855. Following his resignation Russell wrote to his father-in-law that he would not serve again under Palmerston or any other prime minister. For a time it appeared as if his career in frontbench politics might be over. Russell continued to speak out from
25521-473: The role of Foreign Secretary on a temporary basis, to lend stability to the fledgling government. He resigned the role in February 1853 in favour of Clarendon , but continued to lead for the government in the Commons and attended cabinet without ministerial responsibilities. Russell was unhappy that half of Aberdeen's cabinet was made up of Peelites, despite the fact that the Whigs contributed hundreds of MPs to
25702-525: The safety of the Crown, on the very day of Charles I 's execution, and then locked the boys inside to prevent their going to watch the spectacle a few hundred yards away. Regardless of politics, he thrashed Royalist and Puritan boys alike without fear or favour. Busby also took part in Oliver Cromwell 's funeral procession in 1658, when a Westminster schoolboy, Robert Uvedale , succeeded in snatching
25883-476: The same basis as their husbands – that is, by courtesy. Thus, the wife of the person known as Marquess of Douro is known as "Marchioness of Douro". In the case of a woman who is a substantive peer in her own right, by succession or by first creation (that is, ennoblement, most commonly in recent times under the Life Peerages Act 1958 ), her husband acquires no distinction in right of his wife . Thus,
26064-410: The same manner as peeresses in their own right. Children of peers can outrank certain actual peers. For instance, the daughter of a duke outranks a countess. However, if the daughter of a duke marries an earl, she drops to the rank of countess, because her courtesy title is subsumed in his substantive title; however, if that same daughter marries a commoner, she retains her rank. If that daughter marries
26245-451: The school refused to move out of the city, unlike other schools such as Charterhouse and St. Paul's , and remains in its central London location. Westminster Under School was formed in 1943 in the evacuated school buildings in Westminster, as a distinct preparatory school for day pupils between the ages of eight to 13 (now seven to 13). Only the separation is new: for example, in the 18th century, Edward Gibbon attended Westminster from
26426-531: The school statutes in 1560, and some early plays were acted in College Hall before Elizabeth I and her whole Council. However, in a more prudish age, Queen Victoria did not accompany Prince Albert and the Prince of Wales to the play, and recorded in her diary that it was "very Improper". Today, the play is put on less frequently, any members of the school may take part, and the Master of the King's Scholars gives
26607-502: The school took possession of St Edward's House, which was the last Anglican monastery in London. The building, on the corner of Great College Street and Tufton Street, now houses Purcell's, a Boarding House for girls and a Day House for boys, as well as a small Chapel and Refectory. Westminster Under School has also been enlarged by a building in Douglas Street, which provides an Art Studio, IT Suite and Dining Hall. Westminster
26788-509: The school's Governing Body until 2020. Unusually among public schools, Westminster did not adopt most of the broader changes associated with the Victorian ethos of Thomas Arnold , such as the emphasis on team over individual spirit, and the school retained much of its distinctive character. Despite many pressures, including evacuation and the destruction of the school roof during the Blitz ,
26969-590: The school, and seven UK prime ministers also then attended, all belonging to the Whig or Liberal factions of British politics: Henry Pelham and his brother Thomas Pelham-Holmes , Charles Watson-Wentworth , James Waldegrave , Augustus Fitzroy , William Cavendish-Bentinck , and John Russell . Boys join the Under School at seven and the Senior School at 13 if they pass their examinations. Girls join
27150-464: The school. In 2010 the school and the abbey celebrated the 450th anniversary of the granting of their royal charter and Elizabeth I's refoundation of the school in 1560. Queen Elizabeth II with the Duke of Edinburgh unveiled a controversial statue in Little Dean's Yard of the Queen's namesake Elizabeth I, the nominal foundress of the School, by Old Westminster sculptor Matthew Spender. The head of
27331-449: The seed... but God made it grow." The school owns playing fields and tennis courts in the centre of the 13-acre Vincent Square , along which Westminster Under School is also situated. Its academic results place it among the top schools nationally; about half its students go to Oxbridge , giving it the highest national Oxbridge acceptance rate. In the 2023 A-levels , the school saw 82.3% of its candidates score A* or A. The school
27512-587: The statue came off in May 2016 after a Sixth Former (a pupil in Year 12) tried to climb onto the statue. The head has since been reattached. In May 2013, the school was criticized for staging an auction involving the selling of internships to fund bursaries, resulting in adverse press coverage. In December 2017, the school announced plans to open six schools in China, working with the Hong Kong educational group HKMETG;
27693-450: The student body." Signatories complained that Westminster did not include any black authors in their curriculum and overlooked Britain's role in the slave trade. In March 2022, Challenge Consultancy published a Race Review of Westminster School that found "continued denial of the racism and the invisibility of the issue". Challenge Consultancy was commissioned by Westminster School to facilitate understanding of how staff and pupils perceive
27874-488: The style and precedence that would have been his, had his father survived to inherit the barony, becoming the Honourable George Ponsonby . Precedence in such circumstances is usually granted, but is not automatic. The wife of a substantive peer is legally entitled to the privileges of peerage: she is said to have a "life estate" in her husband's dignity. Thus, a duke's wife is titled "the duchess ",
28055-431: The styles as would be theirs if their fathers actually held the peerages by which they were known; for example, Serena Stanhope , daughter of Viscount Petersham (heir to the Earl of Harrington ), had the style of the Honourable , which is reserved for daughters of viscounts and barons, a title which her father held by courtesy only. The actual courtesy title which is used is a matter of family tradition. For instance,
28236-533: The title Master of Tweeddale . Holders of courtesy titles do not, at the Court of St James's , have their title preceded by "the": "Earl of Arundel" rather than "the Earl of Arundel", for instance. Wives are entitled to use the feminine forms of their husbands' courtesy titles. Thus, the wife of an Earl of Arundel would be styled "Countess of Arundel" (again, without the definite article in front). The children (either male or female) of holders of courtesy titles bear
28417-424: The title, styled with her forename prefixed to the title (without the definite article). Her forename is used primarily to differentiate her from any new wife of her former husband; however, should the former husband remain unmarried, then the former wife may continue to use the title without her forename attached. Should a former wife of a peer remarry, then she would lose the style of a divorced peeress and take on
28598-684: The traditional Whig suspicion of the Catholic hierarchy, and was angered at what he saw as a papal imposition. On 4 November 1850, in a letter to the Bishop of Durham published in The Times the same day, Russell wrote that the Pope's actions suggested a "pretension to supremacy" and declared that "No foreign prince or potentate will be permitted to fasten his fetters upon a nation which has so long and so nobly vindicated its right to freedom of opinion, civil, political, and religious". Russell's "Durham letter" won him popular support in England but in Ireland it
28779-463: The twentieth century, and women who remarry now ordinarily take a new married name and do not retain their former title. The College of Arms , acting on an opinion of the Lord Chancellor , holds that divorced peeresses "cannot claim the privileges or status of Peeresses which they derived from their husbands". While a divorced former wife of a peer is no longer a peeress, she may still use
28960-458: The use of the prefix "The Much Hon." is correct, but that "most lairds prefer the unadorned name and territorial designation ". The wife of a laird is traditionally accorded the courtesy title of Lady . A form of courtesy title granted is the suffix of " the Younger " (also written as Yr or yr ) at the end of the name. This title is granted to the heir apparent of a Scottish baron and
29141-466: The whole school. Weighing scales are on hand in the event of a dispute. A cook who failed to get the pancake over the bar after three attempts would formerly have been "booked" or pelted with Latin primers, but that tradition has long lapsed. The privilege of being the first commoners to acclaim each new sovereign at their coronation in Westminster Abbey is reserved for the King's (or Queen's) Scholars. Their shouts of " Vivat Rex/Regina " ("Long live
29322-495: Was Sir John Dyson , who took office on 19 April 2010. By royal warrant dated 10 December 2010, all Justices of the Supreme Court who are not already peers are granted the style Lord or Lady followed by a surname, territorial designation or a combination of both, for life. This decision avoided any distinction from the Scottish Senators of the College of Justice (see section above). Accordingly, Sir John Dyson
29503-488: Was Palmerston's famous "tit for tat with Johnny Russell." Following Russell's resignation, on the 23 February 1852 the Earl of Derby accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government. The new Conservative ministry were a minority in the Commons due to the continuing rift with the Peelites . Derby called a general election for July but failed to secure a majority. After the election Derby's Conservatives held 292 out of
29684-451: Was a daughter of a duke, a marquess or an earl, or a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter or a Lady of the Order of the Thistle without a higher style). It used to be customary for women with higher titles from one marriage to retain them even on subsequent remarriage. As Lord Macnaughten put it, in the case of Earl Cowley v Countess Cowley [1901] AC 450: "...everybody knows that it is
29865-458: Was also "a strong sense from pupil interviewees of a social hierarchy within the school where some male pupils' status was dictated by familial wealth, academic success and charisma." Submissions to Everyone's Invited also recalled the Westminster Tree website that mapped sexual contact between students. A total of 44 recommendations included an overhaul of the school's relationships and sex education curriculum, "active bystander" training, and
30046-490: Was confirmed by the House of Lords , on the grounds that ordinary courts of law lacked any jurisdiction in matters of honour. The same practice was followed by widows who remarried. A prominent example was Catherine Parr , the last wife of Henry VIII , who continued to be known as Queen Catherine even after her marriage to Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley (and, indeed, she disputed precedence with Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset on this basis). This usage died out later in
30227-417: Was due to be rebuilt as an academy , but decided not to do so after Westminster City Council developed its plans. In 2013 the school collaborated with the Harris Federation to set up a selective, mixed sixth-form academy, with entrance priority being given to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Harris Westminster Sixth Form opened nearby in 2014; pupils of the academy share some lessons and facilities of
30408-485: Was educated by tutors, including Edmund Cartwright . In 1806 Russell's father was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the short-lived Ministry of All the Talents and it was during this time that the young Russell met Charles James Fox . Fox was Russell's formative political hero and would remain an inspiration throughout his life. Russell attended the University of Edinburgh from 1809 to 1812, lodging with Professor John Playfair , who oversaw his studies. He did not take
30589-528: Was elevated to the peerage as Earl Russell , of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset , and as Viscount Amberley , of Amberley in the County of Gloucester, and of Ardsalla in the County of Meath in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . Henceforth, as a suo jure peer, rather than merely being known as 'Lord' because he was the son of a Duke, he sat in the House of Lords for the remainder of his career. When Palmerston suddenly died in late 1865, Russell again became prime minister . His second premiership
30770-492: Was fashionable at the time. The Eton crew bought some light-blue ribbons (which later became the standard Eton colours) to differentiate themselves, but the Westminster crew won the race and the right to wear pink in perpetuity. The premier Leander Club at Henley, founded in London by a number of Old Westminster rowers, later adopted it, although they call the colour cerise. The only problems arise when racing against Abingdon School , whose team also wears pink. Since 1810, when
30951-425: Was formerly known as Homeboarders and Dryden's as Dale's . Before it was rebuilt, Rigaud's was known as Clapham's and Best's . Between 2001 and 2004, the school was one of fifty independent schools involved in the independent school fee fixing scandal in the United Kingdom. It was subsequently found guilty of operating a fee-fixing cartel by the Office of Fair Trading . The commission argued that until 2000,
31132-444: Was more than was justified by the size of the established Protestant church in Ireland . Russell argued that a proportion the tithe revenue should instead be appropriated for the education of the Irish poor, regardless of denomination. The speech was seen by its opponents as an attack on the established church in Ireland and it cemented a split within Grey's government over the issue of Irish tithes. The following month four members of
31313-468: Was not passed by the end of the Parliament. In 2013, there was a private member's bill in the House of Lords introduced by Conservative excepted hereditary peer Lord Lucas to the same effect, which was similarly not passed. If a prince or peer dies, his wife's style does not change unless the new peer is a married man (or a woman, if the succession permits). Traditionally, the widowed peeress puts " Dowager " in her style – for example, "The Most Hon.
31494-399: Was one of the foundations of the united Liberal Party, which would go on to dominate British politics in the following decades. While Russell was an energetic and effective minister during the 1830s and helped to commit the Whigs to a reform agenda, he proved less successful as prime minister. During his two periods as prime minister he often suffered from a disunited cabinet and weak support in
31675-547: Was re-opened when The Times published an article quoting Professor Edward Vickers of Kyushu University , who accused the school (and King's College School , with similar plans) of "helping Chinese teach propaganda". These plans were cancelled in November 2021 in response to "recent changes in Chinese education policy". The school stands mainly in the precincts of the medieval monastery of Westminster Abbey, its main buildings surrounding its private square Little Dean's Yard (known as Yard), off Dean's Yard, where Church House ,
31856-529: Was short and frustrating, and Russell failed in his great ambition of expanding the franchise, a task that would be left to his Conservative successors, Derby and Benjamin Disraeli . In 1866, party disunity again brought down his government. Russell never again held any office. His last contribution to the House of Lords was on 3 August 1875. Russell married Adelaide Lister (widow of Thomas Lister, 2nd Baron Ribblesdale , who had died in 1832) on 11 April 1835. Together they had two daughters: Adelaide came down with
32037-438: Was the 13th most expensive HMC day school and tenth most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK in 2014/2015 It achieved the highest percentage of students accepted by Oxbridge colleges over the period 2002–2006, and was ranked as best boys' school in the country in terms of GCSE results in 2017. In 2019, 84% of pupils scored A*-A for their A-Levels examination, while 80% scored A*-A for their GCSEs. Westminster School, in
32218-576: Was the principal architect of the Reform Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4 . c. 45). He was succeeded as Liberal leader by former Peelite William Gladstone , and was thus the last true Whig to serve as prime minister. Generally taken as the model for Anthony Trollope 's Mr. Mildmay, aspects of his character may also have suggested those of Plantagenet Palliser . An ideal statesman, said Trollope, should have "unblemished, unextinguishable, inexhaustible love of country.... But he should also be scrupulous, and, as being scrupulous, weak." Courtesy titles in
32399-457: Was too much the abstract theorist: He was more concerned with the removal of obstacles to civil liberty than with the creation of a more reasonable and civilized society. His political theory centred in the revolution of 1688 , and in the clique of aristocratic families to whom the country owed loyalty in return for something like the charte octroyée of the reform bill. Nevertheless, Russell led his Whig party into support for reform; he
32580-420: Was twice rejected by the Tory dominated House of Lords, as was a new bill in 1851. Rothschild was re-elected in the 1852 general election following the fall of the Russell government but was unable to take his seat until the Jews Relief Act was finally passed in 1858. Russell's government led the calamitous response to the Irish Famine . During the course of the famine, an estimated one million people died from
32761-496: Was viewed as an unwarranted insult to the Pope. It lost Russell the confidence of Irish Repealer MPs and the cabinet were angered that he had made such an incendiary statement without having consulting them. The following year Russell passed the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 with Tory support, which made it a criminal offence carrying a fine of £100 for anyone outside of the Church of England to assume an episcopal title "of any city, town or place, or of any territory or district...in
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