![]() ![]() ![]() Įden had an elder brother, John, who was killed in action in 1914, and a younger brother, Nicholas, who was killed when the battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable blew up and sank at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. He did not resemble his siblings, but his father Sir William attributed this to his being "a Grey, not an Eden". Eden was amused by the rumours but, according to his biographer Rhodes James, probably did not believe them. His mother and Wyndham exchanged affectionate communications in 1896 but Wyndham was an infrequent visitor to Windlestone and probably did not reciprocate Sybil's feelings. Eden's mother was rumoured to have had an affair with Wyndham. There was speculation for many years that Eden's biological father was the politician and man of letters George Wyndham, but this is considered impossible as Wyndham was in South Africa at the time of Eden's conception. Eden was once amused to learn that one of his ancestors had, like Churchill's ancestor the Duke of Marlborough, been the lover of Barbara Castlemaine. He also had some Danish (the Schaffalitzky de Muckadell family) and Norwegian (the Bie family) descent. The Calverts had converted to the Established Church early in the 18th century to regain the proprietorship of Maryland. He was also descended from Governor Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland and, through the Calvert family of Maryland, he was connected to the ancient Roman Catholic aristocracy of the Arundell and Howard families (including the Dukes of Norfolk), as well as Anglican families including as the earls of Carlisle, Effingham and Suffolk. Įden's great-grandfather was William Iremonger, who commanded the 2nd Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular War and fought under Wellington (as he became) at Vimeiro. Referring to his parentage, Rab Butler would later quip that Anthony Eden- a handsome but ill-tempered man- was "half mad baronet, half beautiful woman". Although she was a popular figure locally, she had a strained relationship with her children, and her profligacy ruined the family fortunes, meaning Eden's elder brother Tim had to sell Windlestone in 1936. Eden's mother had wanted to marry Francis Knollys, who later became a significant Royal adviser, but the match was forbidden by the Prince of Wales. An eccentric and often foul-tempered man, he was a talented watercolourist, portraitist, and collector of Impressionists. Sir William was a former colonel and local magistrate from an old titled family. He was the third of four sons of Sir William Eden, 7th and 5th Baronet, and Sybil Frances Grey, a member of the prominent Grey family of Northumberland. Family Įden was born on 12 June 1897 at Windlestone Hall, County Durham, into a conservative family of landed gentry. ![]() He was the first out of fifteen British prime ministers to be appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in her seventy-year reign. Įden is generally considered to be among the least successful of British prime ministers in the 20th century, although two broadly sympathetic biographies have gone some way to shifting the balance of opinion. Two months after ordering an end to the Suez operation, he resigned as Prime Minister on grounds of ill health, and because he was widely suspected of having misled the House of Commons over the degree of collusion with France and Israel. Most historians argue that he made a series of blunders, especially not realising the depth of American opposition to military action. Having been deputy to Winston Churchill for almost 15 years, Eden succeeded him as the leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister in 1955, and a month later won a general election.Įden's reputation as a skilled diplomat was overshadowed in 1956 when the United States refused to support the Anglo-French military response to the Suez Crisis, which critics across party lines regarded as a historic setback for British foreign policy, signalling the end of British influence in the Middle East. He again held that position for most of the Second World War, and a third time in the early 1950s. ![]() Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.Īchieving rapid promotion as a young Conservative member of Parliament, he became foreign secretary aged 38, before resigning in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy. ![]()
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