| The Right Honourable Charles Gurney Seymour MP | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the House of Commons | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1990 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Preceded by | Lord Weatherill |
| Foreign Secretary | |
| In office 1986–1987 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Succeeded by | The Rt.Hon.Simon Kerslake, MP |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 1987–1988 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Member of Parliament for Sussex Downs |
|
| Majority | 20,000+ |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Fiona Seymour (ex-wife) Amanda Wallace Seymour (ex-wife) |
| Relations | Rupert Seymour, Earl of Bridgwater (brother). |
| Children | Harry Seymour |
| Residence | Eaton Square |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
The Honourable Charles Gurney Seymour, 1st Viscount Seymour of the Downs, is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. When the novel was first published in the United States, the character's name was altered to "Charles Gurney Hampton".
He is the second son of the Earl of Bridgewater. As he is the younger of twins (by a mere nine minutes), he does not inherit his father's peerage, shares in a merchant bank, a castle in Scotland or the 20,000-acre (80 km²) family estate. Missing out on such opulence, wealth and power to his harmless brother Rupert whom he despises (a feeling which his brother does not appear to share) leaves him bitter.
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Charles went to Eton College. After leaving school he progressed to the University of Oxford. One night he heard a speech given by then-Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. He was so inspired by the elder statesmen's speech that he decided to do everything he could to become Prime Minister.
An implacably ambitious and scheming man, Charles was elected the Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Sussex Downs with a majority in excess of 20,000 votes in 1964. He set about making himself stand out amongst the new intake of Conservative MPs. He ruthlessly backed Edward Heath for the leadership of the Conservative Party following the resignation of Sir Alec Douglas-Home simply because Heath was most likely to lead the party. His tactics paid off; Heath was elected leader and Charles was rewarded by being elevated to the front bench. His early posts included a stint in the Shadow Chief Whip's Office and the Shadow Local Government and Housing Department.
Charles Seymour always predicted Simon Kerslake was "the only one of his contemporaries who could prevent him from leading the party." He therefore set about to wreck Kerslake's career. He tried to bankrupt him, leaked any scandals he could find about Simon, abused his powers as Junior Whip to ensure that Simon was absent on crucial votes in the House of Commons, thus causing Simon lose favour with the leader, and unsuccessfully attempted to block Simon's bid to return to the Commons after his seat was abolished in boundary changes.
Although he did not support her in the leadership election following the forced resignation of Edward Heath, Charles later served under Margaret Thatcher as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.
Charles attempted to succeed Thatcher as Conservative Leader following her resignation. He stood against Kerslake and the foppish MP Alec Pimkin for the leadership. He topped the first ballot with an insufficient majority, prompting a run-off vote, which he lost. He lost the second ballot largely thanks to the defeated Alec Pimkin deciding to vote for Kerslake (he later confessed that he wanted to go to his grave knowing he done at least one decent thing).
Seymour was also damaged by the donation of a famous and expensive family portrait of the First Earl of Bridgewater to the British Museum. The move was perceived by members as being opportunistic, and contributed to Seymour getting a lower 2nd ballot total than on the first ballot.
In reality, the portrait was stolen from him by his ex-wife Fiona, who wanted to inflict maximum personal hurt on Seymour. She made the donation in the midst of the leadership contest knowing Seymour could not politically ask for the portrait to be returned to him.
First Ballot (held on Tuesday May 16th 1989)
1. Charles Seymour 138 votes
2. Simon Kerslake 135 votes
3. Alec Pimkin 15 votes
Second Ballot (held on Tuesday May 23rd 1989)
1. Simon Kerslake 158 votes
2. Charles Seymour 130 votes
Charles was depressed about losing the leadership contest. His fate was sealed when his embittered ex-wife sold his story to the tabloid News of the World revealing all his underhand tactics. Kerslake was not bitter, however, and made Charles (who at this point was aging rapidly) numerous offers to return to the front bench. Charles declined them all and at his request became the Speaker of the House of Commons. As Speaker, he hosted a historic dinner at which Queen Elizabeth II revealed her intention to abdicate.
Charles had a poor relationship with his mother, he detested his brother the Earl, and his two marriages both ended in divorce. Yet he showed a tremendous devotion to his son Harry, and was devastated when his ex-wife implied that Harry might not be his child (he was delighted when a DNA test confirmed he was).
In the ITV television adaptation of First Among Equals, Charles was played by Jeremy Child.