The gay Tory who spied for the Soviets 26th February 2024 Everyone has heard of the Profumo scandal which did such damage to Harold Macmillan’s Government in 1963. It is often forgotten that his Government had been... Articles
Kings and cancer 7th February 2024 The following letter was published in The Times on 7 February. Sir, It is immensely poignant that the King’s cancer diagnosis should have been announced the day... Articles
No united Ireland 3rd February 2024 The appointment of a Sinn Fein first minister in Northern Ireland has led to speculation that a united Ireland is now a serious prospect. Alistair Lexden... Articles
Critics of the Empire 30th January 2024 A full and accurate understanding of the British Empire is impeded by the unremitting hostility of many writers and commentators. As Alistair Lexden stressed in... Articles
Stepping out - backwards 20th January 2024 This was a skill that the most senior royal courtiers needed until recently. Some managed better than others, as Alistair Lexden noted in a letter published in... Articles
The first Whigs and Tories 19th January 2024 The attached article was published in Parliament’s magazine The House, to which Alistair Lexden contributes regularly, on 15 January. It is an abridged – and... Articles
A Conservative history essay: how the Tory Party was born some 340 years ago 22nd December 2023 The modern histories of the Conservative Party do not provide a full account of how it first came into being as the Tory Party in the early 1680s. This essay... Articles
Edward VIII speaks out 18th December 2023 Few people have come under more sustained attack . Some have accused him of being a Nazi collaborator. The King’s side of the story, drawing on hitherto... Articles
Ancient robes but no coronet 1st December 2023 Writing in The Spectator about the State Opening of Parliament on 7 November, Charles Moore, now a colleague in the Lords, mentioned that he was seated near... Articles