Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister

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About Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

The British poet laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The laureateship dates to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official laureate was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II. On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who held the post between November 1850 and October 1892, there was a break of four years as a mark of respect; Tennyson's laureate poems "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" were particularly cherished by the Victorian public. Four poets—Thomas Gray, Samuel Rogers, Walter Scott and Philip Larkin—turned down the laureateship. Historically the poet laureate was appointed for an unfixed term and typically for life, but since 1999 the term has been ten years. The holder of the position as at 2026 is Simon Armitage who succeeded Carol Ann Duffy in May 2019 after her ten years in office.

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Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister

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About Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

The British poet laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The laureateship dates to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official laureate was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II. On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who held the post between November 1850 and October 1892, there was a break of four years as a mark of respect; Tennyson's laureate poems "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" were particularly cherished by the Victorian public. Four poets—Thomas Gray, Samuel Rogers, Walter Scott and Philip Larkin—turned down the laureateship. Historically the poet laureate was appointed for an unfixed term and typically for life, but since 1999 the term has been ten years. The holder of the position as at 2026 is Simon Armitage who succeeded Carol Ann Duffy in May 2019 after her ten years in office.

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