Turtledove
Register
Advertisement
Her Majesty's Government Coat of Arms

The prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of His/Her Majesty's Government. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, who are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party or parties, and ultimately to the electorate. The office of the prime minister is the highest elected political office in the modern United Kingdom.

The office was not "created" or "established", but rather has evolved into existence over a period of three centuries, with various unwritten rules, customs, and laws hardening into the current office.

This article lists the known prime ministers found in the works of Harry Turtledove after the Point of Divergence in alternate history, or known prime ministers found in works of science fiction. Prime ministers who served before the POD of a given alternate history who are mentioned in passing do not need to be listed here. Stories set in OTL may reference past prime ministers, or even the sitting prime minister, but unless the individual's role in the story is specifically fictionalized, they do not belong here.

  Conservative       Liberal       Labour       BUF

In the Presence of Mine Enemies[]

With Germany emerging victorious from the Second World War, the United Kingdom was annexed to the Greater German Reich, and the British Union of Fascists became the country's only legal party. In 2010, the BUF launched a push for reform within its borders that saw the selection of a prime minister by popular vote by party members.

Prime Minister Term of office Political party Monarch
(Reign)
Winston Churchill Churchill 1940-19411 Conservative Party Unknown
Oswald Mosley2 Mosley 1941-19801 British Union of Fascists
Unknown 1980-2010 BUF
Nophoto
Henry IX
(before 2010-Incumbent, 2011)
Charlie Lynton Nophoto
2010-

Incumbent in Summer 2011

BUF

Notes[]

1=The tenures of Churchill and Mosley are estimates based on the text.
2=It is not clear whether Mosley used the title of PM when he was head of government. He is included here for convenience.

Southern Victory[]

During the War of Secession, Prime Minister Lord Palmerston supported the seceding Confederate States, forging an alliance that would carry on into the next century and two wars. The United Kingdom was on the losing side of the Great War in 1917, and eventually begat a revanchist coalition of the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill and the Silver Shirts led by Oswald Mosley, which dominated Parliament by 1934. This coalition led the country into war against Germany in 1941. While initially successful, the tide turned against the UK starting in 1943. Germany destroyed three major British cities with superbombs in 1944, prompting a non-confidence vote which toppled Churchill. Horace Wilson became the acting PM, and pursued peace with Germany.

Prime Minister Term of office Political party Monarch
(Reign)
Lord Palmerston Palmerston 1859-1865(?) Liberal Party Queenvictoria
Victoria
(1837-1901)
Unknown 1865-1901 Unknown
1901-1910 EdwardVII
Edward VII
(1901-1910)
1910-1933 GeorgeV
George V
(1910-1936)
Winston Churchill Churchill c. 1934-1944 Conservative Party
(senior partner in coalition with Silver Shirts)
EdwardVIII
Edward VIII
(1936-Incumbent, 1945)
Horace Wilson (acting) HWilson 1944-Incumbent at series' end, 1945 Unknown

The Two Georges[]

Several people are mentioned as serving as PMs in the past, although their terms and their party aren't always identified.

  • DukeofNewcastle

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, former prime minister, was Lord of the Treasury when he appeared in the painting The Two Georges.

  • Elderpitt

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC, prime minister during the 1760s. He helped ease the tensions between Britain and its North American colonies, insuring that the British Empire remained intact. He appears in the painting The Two Georges.

  • Lord North,

Frederick North, Lord North, Chancellor of the Exchequer and who succeeded Pitt as prime minister. He is in the painting, The Two Georges.

  • Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli, namesake of Disraeli province of the North American Union. While he is not specifically stated to have been a PM, he was probably intended by the authors as such.

  • Nophoto

There is an unnamed incumbent female PM in 1995. A popular readers' consensus identifies her as Margaret Thatcher, but as no details about this character are given, this hypothesis is no longer endorsed by this website.

The War That Came Early[]

Neville Chamberlain led Britain through the Second World War during its first phase against Germany (October 1938 to Summer 1940) and then after the "big switch" of mid-1940 which saw Britain align itself with Germany against the Soviet Union. In late 1940, Chamberlain's failing health led him to step down and press for the appointment of his close adviser, Horace Wilson. Wilson's term saw increased scrutiny of the ministry's critics at home and a crackdown on protests.

Wilson's increasing authoritarianism finally prompted a military coup in the spring of 1941. The interim government detained Wilson, ended the war with the USSR, and restarted the war with Germany. It also promised elections throughout the remainder of 1941, but reset the date each time. Soon, it was 1943, and the military still held power. In the meantime, along with overseeing a war in North Africa and the reopening of the Western Front in Europe, the government reassigned several key members of the Wilson government to diplomatic positions in distant countries so as to keep them under control.

Even after the war in Europe ended in 1944, the military maintained control over the government.

Prime Minister Term of office Political party Monarch
(Reign)
Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain 1937-1940 Conservative Party GeorgeVi
George VI
(1936-Incumbent, 1944)
HWilson Horace Wilson 1940-1941 Conservative Party
675px-BritishArmyFlag2.svg Interim Military Government 1941-

Incumbent at series' end, 1944

N/A

Worldwar[]

Only two prime ministers are identified in the series:

  • Churchill

Winston Churchill, PM throughout the Worldwar tetralogy under King George VI.

  • Eden

Anthony Eden, identified as the PM only in Aftershocks, but was probably the PM in Second Contact and Down to Earth as well. Served under Queen Elizabeth II.

Other Prime Ministers[]

Other prime ministers of the United Kingdom are incumbent during or after the POD in various Harry Turtledove timelines.

Former prime minister John Russell plays a background role in The Guns of the South and the prologue of The Great War: American Front as the incumbent Foreign Secretary. Whether he returned to the prime ministry in 1865 in either timeline, as in OTL, is unknown.

The Atlantis Series has a relevant POD of 1452. The office of British prime minister is confirmed to exist in Liberating Atlantis, set in 1852, but no holder of the office is ever named or described.

In the novel Joe Steele, Neville Chamberlain is PM in 1938, being succeeded by Winston Churchill, and Clement Attlee as in OTL. The novel's scope leaves Britain in 1946. Churchill directly appears in both the novel and the short story, while Chamberlain and Attlee are only referenced in the novel.

In addition to the above, Winston Churchill is the incumbent PM throughout "News From the Front" and Or Even Eagle Flew. He was PM at the 1943 POD of "Ready for the Fatherland," and is referenced, although his successors are unnamed. In The Man With the Iron Heart and The Hot War: Armistice, former PM Churchill is still a significant force as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but both novels end before he has had a chance to return to office.

Clement Attlee is prime minister in The Man With the Iron Heart and The Hot War: Armistice. In the latter, he appears directly and his term is extended into 1952.

Harold Macmillan appears as PM in 1963 in "A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court", set in OTL. He is not directly involved in the story's fantasy elements.  

Historical Prime Ministers in Non-PM Roles[]

Several historical prime ministers of the United Kingdom have appeared in Harry Turtledove timelines in a capacity other than as prime minister.

George Grenville is referenced in The Two Georges as one of the men portrayed in the famous painting. He is remembered as having failed to gain the Prime Ministry.

William Petty-FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne is referenced as Secretary of State in The United States of Atlantis. Whether he later became PM is unknown.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington is referenced for his OTL role as a General in Liberating Atlantis. The ecological alternate history "The Yorkshire Mammoth" has a brief reference to "Wellington boots." Whether he became PM in either timeline is unknown.

William Gladstone is referenced in his OTL position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in The Guns of the South and The Great War: American Front (prologue). Whether he became PM in either timeline is unknown.

The War That Came Early series features direct appearances by Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, and Harold Macmillan as MPs. Churchill holds the office of Minister of War when he is killed in May 1940. Neither of the other two have a chance to become PM before the series ends.

See Also[]

Advertisement