History UsefulNotes / AnthonyEden

Plagued both by health issues and widespread ridicule for the Suez Crisis, Eden resigned less than two years after his premiership began, and went into a quiet retirement. Due to the major EpicFail that was the Suez Crisis, Eden is usually held to be the worst British PM of the 20th century. It also doesn't help that as his tenure was cut short, he didn't have enough time to achieve a great deal. Of his other noteworthy actions, he also rejected the proposal of a economic and political union between France and Great Britain, proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, and declined to involve Britain in the discussions that would result in the Treaty of Rome and the birth of the [[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion European Economic Community]]. For much of the subsequent half-century this was seen as a foreign policy blunder obscured only by the catastrophe that was Suez; every Prime Minister who followed him, until the British populace finally voted to LEAVE the European Union in the 2016 referendum, would reverse course on this decision and pursue closer economic and political ties with Europe (albeit with varying levels of enthusiasm). On the decolonization front, he granted independence to Sudan. He also presided over the lowest unemployment level in British history, standing at just about 1%. (In comparison, the US has only seen it reach 2.5%.) Though still commonly regarded as the worst British Prime Minister, historical consensus has generally agreed that he was a victim of a crisis during his premiership that he handled in the ''worst way possible''.

As a result of his record as Foreign Secretary, Eden came to office with a reputation for being an excellent diplomat. That is until, in the second year of his premiership, when he set in motion the Suez Crisis of 1956. This was a scheme planned by the UK, France, and Israel in response to Egypt's prime minister/president/dictator UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser saying he was going to nationalize the Suez Canal. Basically, Israel would invade Egypt, and British and French troops would come there on the grounds of separating the two armies and preventing war. In reality, the three countries were occupying the Sinai Peninsula, and they also hoped to remove Nasser from power. All three were shocked to find that the majority of voters in the UK did not actually support the war, and the international backlash was spectacular. Even the United States, which usually has excellent relations with the British on foreign matters, condemned the move, and President UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower pressured the three countries to leave Egypt. ''[[FromBadToWorse Then]]'' it turned out that Israel forgot to burn the documents related to planning the invasion, making it clear to everyone that the leaders of the two European powers planned this from the beginning. Humiliated, British and French forces had to be sent back home just a few months after the Crisis began, and Israel left the next year. During said Crisis, he also memorably said that "[[InsistentTerminology We are not in a war with Egypt. We are in an armed conflict with Egypt]]." It crippled the [=UK=]'s (until then massive) influence in the Middle East and was the beginning of the end of the UK's role as a major world power. Additionally, Nasser came out of the conflict with even higher standing at home, so this backfired in every possible way.

Plagued both by health issues and widespread ridicule for the Suez Crisis, Eden resigned less than two years after his premiership began, and went into a quiet retirement. Due to the major EpicFail that was the Suez Crisis, Eden is usually held to be the worst British PM of the 20th century. It also doesn't help that as his tenure was cut short, he didn't have enough time to achieve a great deal. Of his other noteworthy actions, he also rejected the proposal of a economic and political union between France and Great Britain, proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, and granted independence to Sudan. He also presided over the lowest unemployment level in British history, standing at just about 1%. (In comparison, the US has only seen it reach 2.5%.) Though still commonly regarded as the worst British Prime Minister, historical consensus has generally agreed that he was a victim of a crisis during his premiership that he handled in the ''worst way possible''.

As a result of his record as Foreign Secretary, Eden came to office with a reputation for being an excellent diplomat. That is until, in the second year of his premiership, when he set in motion the Suez Crisis of 1956. This was a scheme planned by the UK, France, and Israel in response to Egypt's prime minister/president/dictator UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser saying he was going to nationalize the Suez Canal. Basically, Israel would invade Egypt, and British and French troops would come there on the grounds of separating the two armies and preventing war. In reality, the three countries were occupying the Sinai Peninsula, and they also hoped to remove Nasser from power. All three were shocked to find that the majority of voters in the UK did not actually support the war, and the international backlash was spectacular. Even the United States, which usually has excellent relations with the British on foreign matters, condemned the move, and President UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower pressured the three countries to leave Egypt. ''[[FromBadToWorse Then'' it turned out that Israel forgot to burn the documents related to planning the invasion, making it clear to everyone that the leaders of the two European powers planned this from the beginning. Humiliated, British and French forces had to be sent back home just a few months after the Crisis began, and Israel left the next year. During said Crisis, he also memorably said that "[[InsistentTerminology We are not in a war with Egypt. We are in an armed conflict with Egypt]]." It crippled the [=UK=]'s (until then massive) influence in the Middle East and was the beginning of the end of the UK's role as a major world power. Additionally, Nasser came out of the conflict with even higher standing at home, so this backfired in every possible way.

As a result of his record as Foreign Secretary, Eden came to office with a reputation for being an excellent diplomat. That is until, in the second year of his premiership, when he set in motion the Suez Crisis of 1956. This was a scheme planned by the UK, France, and Israel in response to Egypt's prime minister/president/dictator UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser said he was going to nationalize the Suez Canal. Basically, Israel would invade Egypt, and British and French troops would come there in the grounds of separating the two armies and preventing war. In reality, the three countries were occupying the Sinai Peninsula, and they also hoped to remove Nasser from power. All three were shocked to find that the majority of voters in the UK did not actually support the war, and the international backlash was spectacular. Even the United States, which usually has excellent relations with the British on foreign matters, condemned the move, and President UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower pressured the three countries to leave Egypt. And ''then'', it turned out that Israel forgot to burn the documents related to planning the invasion, making it clear to everyone that the leaders of the two European powers planned this from the beginning. Humiliated, British and French forces had to be sent back home just a few months after the Crisis began, and Israel left the next year. During said Crisis, he also memorably said that "[[InsistentTerminology We are not in a war with Egypt. We are in an armed conflict with Egypt]]." It crippled the [=UK=]'s (until then massive) influence in the Middle East and was the beginning of the end of the UK's role as a major world power. Additionally, Nasser came out of the conflict with even higher standing at home, so this backfired in every possible way.

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by Jeremy Northam. The series portrays him as being addicted to powerful painkillers (TruthInTelevision), as well as continuing Churchill's opposition to the marriage between Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend (In RealLife, Eden was supportive of the marriage and had even drawn up a plan in 1955 under which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend while keeping her royal title and her civil list allowance of £6,000 a year plus another £9,000 on marriage. She could continue to live in the UK and even continue with public duties if the public approved, as was highly likely. However, she would have to renounce her rights of succession and those of her children.)

Eden removed Churchill from office in what in any other country would have been called a coup d'etat. At one stage he was in the House of Lords Library, known as the Truro Room, trying to persuade a relucrant peer to come over to his side and oust Churchill; he was running Churchill down, accusing him of being an alcoholic, senile, "past it" and generally unfit for office, when a familiar voice came from a chair at the far end of the room:

Plagued both by health issues and widespread ridicule for the Suez Crisis, Eden resigned less than two years after his premiership began, and went into a quiet retirement. Due to the major EpicFail that was the Suez Crisis, Eden is usually held to be the worst British PM of the 20th century. It also doesn't help that as his tenure was cut short, he didn't have enough time to do achieve a great deal. Of his other noteworthy actions, he also rejected the proposal of a economic and political union between France and Great Britain, proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, and granted independence to Sudan. He also presided over the lowest unemployment level in British history, standing at just about 1%. (In comparison, the US has only seen it reach 2.5%.) Though still commonly regarded as the worst British Prime Minister, historical consensus has generally agreed that he was a victim of a crisis during his premiership that he handled in the ''worst way possible''.

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by Jeremy Northam. The series portrays him as being addicted to powerful painkillers (TruthInTelevision), as well as continuing Churchill's opposition to the marriage between Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend (In RealLife, Eden was supportive of the marriage and had even drew up a plan in 1955 under which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend while keeping her royal title and her civil list allowance of £6,000 a year plus another £9,000 on marriage. She could continue to live in the UK and even continue with public duties if the public approved, as was highly likely. However, she would have to renounce her rights of succession and those of her children.)

Plagued both by health issues and widespread ridicule for the Suez Crisis, Eden resigned less than two years after his premiership began, and went into a quiet retirement. Due to the major EpicFail that was the Suez Crisis, Eden is usually held to be the worst British PM of the 20th century. It also doesn't help that as his tenure was cut short, he didn't have enough time to do achieve a great deal. Of his other noteworthy actions, he also rejected the proposal of a economic and political union between France and Great Britain, proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, and granted independence to Sudan. He also presided over the lowest unemployment level in British history, standing at just about 1%. (In comparison, the US has only seen it reach 2.5%.)

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by JeremyNortham. The series portrays him as being addicted to powerful painkillers (TruthInTelevision), as well as continuing Churchill's opposition to the marriage between Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend (In RealLife, Eden was supportive of the marriage and had even drew up a plan in 1955 under which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend while keeping her royal title and her civil list allowance of £6,000 a year plus another £9,000 on marriage. She could continue to live in the UK and even continue with public duties if the public approved, as was highly likely. However, she would have to renounce her rights of succession and those of her children.)

Eden removed Chrchill from office in what in any other country would have been called a coup d'etat. At one stage he was in the House of Lords Library, known as the Truro Room, trying to persuade a relucrant peer to come over to his side and oust Churchill; he was running Churchill down, accusing him of being an alcoholic, senile, "past it" and generally unfit for office, when a familiar voice came from a chair at the far end of the room:

As a result of his record as Foreign Secretary, Eden came to office with a reputation for being an excellent diplomat. That is until, in the second year of his premiership, when he set in motion the Suez Crisis of 1956. This was a scheme planned by the UK, France, and Israel in response to Egypt's prime minister/president/dictator UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser said he was going to nationalize the Suez Canal. Basically, Israel would invade Egypt, and British and French troops would come there in the grounds of separating the two armies and preventing war. In reality, the three countries were occupying the Sinai Peninsula, and they also hoped to remove Nasser from power. All three were shocked to find that the majority of voters in the UK did not actually support the war, and the international backlash was spectacular. Even the United States, which usually has excellent relations with the British on foreign matters, condemned the move, and President UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower pressured the three countries to leave Egypt. And ''then'', it turned out that Israel forgot to burn the documents related to planning the invasion, making it clear to everyone that the leaders of the two European powers planned this from the beginning. Humiliated, British and French forces had to be sent back home just a few months after the Crisis began, and Israel left the next year. During said Crisis, he also memorably said that "[[InsistentTerminology We are not in a War with Egypt. We are in an armed conflict with Egypt]]." It crippled the [=UK=]'s (until then massive) influence in the Middle East and was the beginning of the end of the UK's role as a major world power. Additionally, Nasser came out of the conflict with even higher standing at home, so this backfired in every possible way.

"And they also say that he is going deaf!"

Eden removed Chrchill from office in what in any other country would have been called a coup d'etat. At one stage he was in the House of Lords Library, known as the Truro Room, trying to persuade a relucrant peer to come over to his side and oust Churchill; he was running Churchill down, accusing him of being an alcoholic, senile, "past it" and generally unfir for office, when a familiar voice came from a chair at the far end of the room:

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by JeremyNortham. The series portrays him as being addicted to powerful painkillers (TruthInTelevision), as well as continuing Churchill's opposition to the marriage between Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend (In RealLife, Eden was supportive of the marriage and had even drew up a plan in 1955 under which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend while keeping her royal title and her civil list allowance of £6,000 a year plus another £9,000 on marriage. She could continue to live in the UK and even continue with public duties if the public approved, as was highly likely.)

However, she would have to renounce her rights of succession and those of her children.

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by JeremyNortham.

* Eden appears as a recurring character in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', in which he is played by JeremyNortham.

* Eden is heavily referenced and discussed in the first season of ''Series/TheHour'', as main character Angus [=McCain=] is a high-ranking member of Eden's staff, and episode 2 depicts the newsroom breaking the Suez Crisis.

'''Robert Anthony Eden''' [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever 1st Earl of Avon KG MC PC]] (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative politician, who was Foreign Secretary during World War II. He was effectively the second-in-command of UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill for 15 years. He then served as Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957, easily winning an election in May 1955.