Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Philip May since 13 July 2016
Style	Mr May, Sir
Residence	10 Downing Street
Inaugural holder	Catherine, Lady Walpole
Formation	30 April 1789
Website	number10.gov.uk

The Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the wife or husband of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. To date there have been 44 women and two men who have been married to British Prime Ministers while in office. The United Kingdom has also had four bachelor and several widower Prime Ministers; the last bachelor was Edward Heath, and the last widower was Ramsay MacDonald. The Duke of Grafton divorced and remarried while in office.

Living spouses of Prime Ministers

Catherine, Lady Walpole

The spouse of the present Prime Minister is Philip May, the husband of Theresa May. There are currently six living spouses of former Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom:

• Clarissa Eden, Dowager Countess of Avon (born 1920), widow of Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon
• Mary Wilson, Lady Wilson of Rievaulx (born 1916), widow of Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, who is the oldest living spouse and the longest-lived on record, having passed her 100th birthday on 12 January 2016
• Dame Norma Major, Lady Major DBE (born 1942), wife of Sir John Major
• Cherie Blair CBE QC (born 1954), wife of Tony Blair
• Sarah Brown (born 1963), wife of Gordon Brown
• Samantha Cameron (born 1971), wife of David Cameron

Role and duties

The role of the prime minister's spouse is not an official office and, as such, they are not given a salary or official duties. Some spouses, such as Norma Major, have chosen to remain very much in the background, although over time the position has evolved and others, such as Cherie Blair, have gained public attention through their own independent careers and achievements, as well as attending engagements such as the African First Ladies Summit.^[1] The role also includes playing host at 10 Downing Street during state visits and ceremonial functions. Samantha Cameron hosted a street party at Downing Street to celebrate the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The Prime Minister's spouse has gained more media attention over time especially concerning fashion and when attending functions such as national conference and at summit meetings, and though their role is not official, staff are appointed to help who form part of the Prime Minister's Office. Isabel Spearman is the current advisor to the husband of the Prime Minister.

Cherie Blair, with Cate Haste, wrote a book about recent prime ministerial spouses, The Goldfish Bowl: Married to the Prime Minister, 1955–1997, in 2005.^[2]

List of spouses of British Prime Ministers

Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, wife of Sir Winston Churchill

Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, wife of Pitt the Elder and mother of Pitt the Younger

Catherine Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, wife of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt., spouse of Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, the first male spouse of a Prime Minister

Cherie Blair

Samantha Cameron

Prime Minister	Term	Spouse	Notes
Robert Walpole later Sir Robert Walpole (1725); then The Earl of Orford (1742)	4 April 1721 – 20 August 1737	Catherine Shorter	Walpole's first marriage; she died 1737
	20 August 1737 – 3 March 1738	None	Widower
	3 March 1738 – 4 June 1738	Maria Skerrett	Walpole's second marriage; she died 1738
	4 June 1738 – 11 February 1742	None	Widower
The Earl of Wilmington	16 February 1742 – 2 July 1743	None	Bachelor: Wilmington never married
Henry Pelham	27 August 1743 – 6 March 1754	Catherine Manners
The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	16 March 1754 – 16 November 1756	Lady Harriet Godolphin
The Duke of Devonshire	16 November 1756 – 25 June 1757	None	Widower: Devonshire's wife, Charlotte Boyle, had died 1754
The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	2 July 1757 – 26 May 1762	Lady Harriet Godolphin
The Earl of Bute	26 May 1762 – 16 April 1763	Mary Wortley Montagu	Birth country:  Ottoman Empire
George Grenville	16 April 1763 – 13 July 1765	Elizabeth Wyndham	Mother of The Lord Grenville
The Marquess of Rockingham	13 July 1765 – 30 July 1766	Mary Bright
William Pitt the Elder later The Earl of Chatham (1766)	30 July 1766 – 14 October 1768	Hester Grenville later The Baroness Chatham (1761)	Mother of William Pitt the Younger
The Duke of Grafton	14 October 1768 – 23 March 1769	Anne Liddell	Grafton's first marriage, lived apart; Liddell's second marriage after The Earl of Upper Ossory
	23 March 1769 – 24 June 1769	None	Divorcé
	24 June 1769 – 28 January 1770	Elizabeth Wrottesley	Grafton's second marriage
The Lord North later The Earl of Guilford (1790)	28 January 1770 – 22 March 1782	Anne Speke
The Marquess of Rockingham	27 March 1782 – 1 July 1782	Mary Bright
The Earl of Shelburne later The Marquess of Lansdowne (1784)	4 July 1782 – 2 April 1783	Louisa FitzPatrick	Shelburne's second marriage after Sophia Carteret
The Duke of Portland	2 April 1783 – 19 December 1783	Lady Dorothy Cavendish	Daughter of The Duke of Devonshire
William Pitt the Younger	19 December 1783 – 14 March 1801	None	Bachelor: Pitt the Younger never married
Henry Addington later The Viscount Sidmouth (1805)	17 March 1801 – 10 May 1804	Ursula Hammond
William Pitt the Younger	10 May 1804 – 23 January 1806	None	Bachelor: Pitt the Younger never married
The Lord Grenville	11 February 1806 – 31 March 1807	Anne Pitt
The Duke of Portland	31 March 1807 – 4 October 1809	None	Widower: Portland's wife, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, had died 1794
Spencer Perceval	4 October 1809 – 11 May 1812	Jane Wilson
The Earl of Liverpool	8 June 1812 – 12 June 1821	Louisa Hervey	Liverpool's first marriage; she died 1821
	12 June 1821 – 24 September 1822	None	Widower
	24 September 1822 – 9 April 1827	Mary Chester	Liverpool's second marriage
George Canning	10 April 1827 – 8 August 1827	Joan Scott later The Viscountess Canning (1828)
The Viscount Goderich later The Earl of Ripon (1833)	31 August 1827 – 21 January 1828	Sarah Hobart
The Duke of Wellington	22 January 1828 – 16 November 1830	Catherine Pakenham
The Earl Grey	22 November 1830 – 9 July 1834	Mary Ponsonby
The Viscount Melbourne	16 July 1834 – 14 November 1834	None	Widower: Melbourne's wife, Caroline Ponsonby, had died 1828
The Duke of Wellington	14 November 1834 – 10 December 1834	None	Widower: Wellington's wife, Catherine Pakenham, had died 1831
Sir Robert Peel, Bt	10 December 1834 – 8 April 1835	Julia Floyd
The Viscount Melbourne	18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841	None	Widower: Melbourne's wife, Lady Caroline Ponsonby, had died 1828
Sir Robert Peel, Bt	30 August 1841 – 29 June 1846	Julia Floyd
Lord John Russell later The Earl Russell (1861)	30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852	Frances Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound	Russell's second marriage after Adelaide Lister
The Earl of Derby	23 February 1852 – 17 December 1852	Emma Bootle-Wilbraham
The Earl of Aberdeen	19 December 1852 – 30 January 1855	Harriet Douglas	Aberdeen's second marriage after Lady Catherine Hamilton; Douglas' second marriage after The Viscount Hamilton
The Viscount Palmerston	6 February 1855 – 19 February 1858	Emily Lamb	Lamb's second marriage after The Earl Cowper; Sister of The Viscount Melbourne
The Earl of Derby	20 February 1858 – 11 June 1859	Emma Bootle-Wilbraham
The Viscount Palmerston	12 June 1859 – 16 October 1865	Emily Lamb	Lamb's second marriage after The Earl Cowper; Sister of The Viscount Melbourne
Lord John Russell later The Earl Russell (1861)	29 October 1865 – 26 June 1866	Frances Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound	Russell's second marriage after Adelaide Lister
The Earl of Derby	28 June 1866 – 25 February 1868	Emma Bootle-Wilbraham
Benjamin Disraeli later The Earl of Beaconsfield (1876)	27 February 1868 – 1 December 1868	Mary Anne Evans later The Viscountess Beaconsfield (1868)	Evans' second marriage after Wyndham Lewis
William Ewart Gladstone	3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874	Catherine Glynne
Benjamin Disraeli later The Earl of Beaconsfield (1876)	20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880	None	Widower: Disraeli's wife, The Viscountess Beaconsfield (Mary Anne Evans), had died 1872
William Ewart Gladstone	23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885	Catherine Glynne
The Marquess of Salisbury	23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886	Georgina Alderson
William Ewart Gladstone	1 February 1886 – 20 July 1886	Catherine Glynne
The Marquess of Salisbury	25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892	Georgina Alderson
William Ewart Gladstone	15 August 1892 – 2 March 1894	Catherine Glynne
The Earl of Rosebery	5 March 1894 – 22 June 1895	None	Widower: Rosebery's wife, Hannah de Rothschild, had died 1890
The Marquess of Salisbury	25 June 1895 – 20 November 1899	Georgina Alderson	She died 1899
	20 November 1899 – 11 July 1902	None	Widower
Arthur Balfour later The Earl of Balfour (1922)	11 July 1902 – 5 December 1905	None	Bachelor: Balfour never married
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	5 December 1905 – 30 August 1906	Charlotte Bruce	She died 1906
	30 August 1906 – 3 April 1908	None	Widower
Herbert Henry Asquith later The Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1925)	5 April 1908 – 5 December 1916	Margot Tennant	Asquith's second marriage after Helen Melland
David Lloyd George later The Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (1945)	6 December 1916 – 19 October 1922	Margaret Owen later Dame Margaret Lloyd George (1920)
Bonar Law	23 October 1922 – 20 May 1923	None	Widower: Law's wife, Annie Robley, had died 1909
Stanley Baldwin later The Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1937)	23 May 1923 – 16 January 1924	Lucy Ridsdale later Dame Lucy Baldwin (1937)
Ramsay MacDonald	22 January 1924 – 4 November 1924	None	Widower: MacDonald's wife, Margaret Gladstone, had died 1911; Their daughter Ishbel MacDonald acted as hostess during MacDonald's term
Stanley Baldwin later The Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1937)	4 November 1924 – 5 June 1929	Lucy Ridsdale later Dame Lucy Baldwin (1937)
Ramsay MacDonald	5 June 1929 – 7 June 1935	None	Widower: MacDonald's wife, Margaret Gladstone, had died 1911; Their daughter Ishbel MacDonald acted as hostess during MacDonald's term
Stanley Baldwin later The Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1937)	7 June 1935 – 28 May 1937	Lucy Ridsdale later Dame Lucy Baldwin (1937)
Neville Chamberlain	28 May 1937 – 10 May 1940	Anne de Vere Cole
Winston Churchill later Sir Winston Churchill (1953)	10 May 1940 – 27 July 1945	Clementine Hozier later Dame Clementine Churchill (1946); then The Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1965)
Clement Attlee later The Earl Attlee (1955)	27 July 1945 – 26 October 1951	Violet Millar
Winston Churchill later Sir Winston Churchill (1953)	26 October 1951 – 6 April 1955	Clementine Hozier later Dame Clementine Churchill (1946); then The Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1965)
Sir Anthony Eden later The Earl of Avon (1961)	6 April 1955 – 9 January 1957	Clarissa Spencer-Churchill	Eden's second marriage after Beatrice Beckett
Harold Macmillan later The Earl of Stockton (1984)	11 January 1957 – 19 October 1963	Lady Dorothy Cavendish
The Earl of Home later Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963); then The Lord Home of the Hirsel (1974)	20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964	Elizabeth Alington
Harold Wilson later The Lord Wilson of Rievaulx (1983)	16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970	Mary Baldwin
Edward Heath later Sir Edward Heath (1992)	19 June 1970 – 4 March 1974	None	Bachelor: Heath never married
Harold Wilson later The Lord Wilson of Rievaulx (1983)	4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976	Mary Baldwin
James Callaghan later The Lord Callaghan of Cardiff (1987)	5 April 1976 – 4 May 1979	Audrey Moulton
Margaret Thatcher later The Baroness Thatcher (1992)	4 May 1979 – 28 November 1990	Denis Thatcher later Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt (1990)	First male spouse; Mr Thatcher's second marriage after Margaret Kempson
John Major later Sir John Major (2005)	28 November 1990 – 2 May 1997	Norma Johnson later Dame Norma Major (1999)
Tony Blair	2 May 1997 – 27 June 2007	Cherie Booth
Gordon Brown	27 June 2007 – 11 May 2010	Sarah Jane Macaulay
David Cameron	11 May 2010 – 13 July 2016	Samantha Sheffield
Theresa May	13 July 2016 – present	Philip May

The PMs names are those upon entering office; their spouses' names are those before marriage, with honours awarded in his or her own right from that time given beneath.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada

References

1. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/02/michelle-obama-laura-bush-africa
2. Cherie Booth; Cate Haste (2005). The Goldfish Bowl: Married To The Prime Minister, 1955–1997. Random House. ISBN 978-0-09-946202-6.