The Right Honourable Francis Ewan Urquhart MP, often referred to by his initials FU, was a British statesman, military officer, and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1992 until his assassination in 2003 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1991 to 2003. He previously served as Chief Whip of the Conservative Party and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1987 to 1992, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2003 for New Forest. A self-described "old-fashioned, no-nonsense Tory", Urquhart was the longest serving prime minister in modern history, having been in power for 11 years. Ideologically, Urquhart was described as being on the hard right within the Conservative Party.
Born in an aristocratic family with roots in the Scottish aristocracy, Urquhart was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh, and was later educated at Oxford University. Urquhart joined the British Army at age 18, and spent three years in Cyprus, where he was commended for bravery in his capture and interrogation of Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA) terrorists. After resigning his commission, Urquhart went on to study at the University of Oxford where he would go on to teach Renaissance Italian History, and secured his fortunes by marrying Elizabeth McCullough. Turning to politics, Urquhart joined the Conservative Party and became the MP for the constituency of New Forest in 1974, later becoming the MP for New Forest East and New Forest in 1997. He served in several ministerial positions before becoming Chief Whip and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in 1987. As chief whip, Urquhart was an enforcer, the one whose job it was to put a bit of stick about, and was not simply respected but also a little feared.
Following Henry Collingridge's emergence as Prime Minister and Conservative leader after winning the 1990 Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Margaret Thatcher, the Conservatives won the 1990 general election with a reduced majority. After the election, Urquhart submitted a memorandum to Collingridge that would contemplate Urquhart being appointed as Foreign Secretary. Urquhart believed that the time had come for change in Britain, and he proposed the appointment of many rural and right-wing Conservatives. Collingridge rejected the memorandum due to his belief that it would hurt the party's popularity, leading to Urquhart secretly plotting against him. Urquhart exploited his position as Chief Whip to leak inside information to the press to undermine Collingridge, ultimately forcing him to announce his resignation in 1991. In the ensuing leadership race, Urquhart initially feigns unwillingness to stand before announcing his candidacy. He fabricated or engineered scandals within the Conservative Party to eliminate his competitors, and killed public relations consultant Roger O'Neill and journalist Mattie Storin to tie up loose ends. Urquhart became prime minister in 1992 after winning the leadership election.
Urquhart started his premiership with a renewed determination to bring the British people together, to put an end to the constant drip of cynicism that eroded so much of the British national life, and to devote himself to the country’s cause. He was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the last prime minister to serve under her, being appointed a few years before the monarch's death. A few months after his appointment as prime minister, Urquhart led his party to victory in the 1992 general election. Urquhart's popularity in his first years in office waned amid rising homelessness, his solution was to bring back national service. As prime minister, Urquhart supported abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription, banning pensioners from the NHS unless they paid for age insurance, and opposed the welfare state. Urquhart and the newly crowned King of the United Kingdom frequently clashed after the King was determined to play a more active role in government, encouraging ideas of liberalism which directly contrasted with Urquhart's hard conservative policies. As Urquhart felt that having more legitimacy would allow him to depose the King, he called a general election in 1997. The issues raised by the monarch against government policy continued to persist, causing Urquhart's government to lose popularity. The King additionally made a tour of the United Kingdom, but was attacked on his tour by a group of “terrorists”- in actuality, actors hired by Urquhart- and then “saved” by the British Army which Urquhart had sent to protect the King along the journey. Thus, popularity for Urquhart rose back, and he won the election, whereafter he successfully pressured the King into abdicating in favour of his teenage son. His former allies Tim Stamper and Sarah Harding were murdered in what appeared to be IRA terrorist attacks, but were, in reality, assassinations ordered by Urquhart to end their conspiracies against him.
Urquhart was re-elected for a third term in 2001, but had become widely unpopular and became increasingly obsessed with making his mark on history. Initially, he wanted nothing more than to beat Thatcher's record for days in office, refusing to relinquish the position of prime minister until he did so, and also had plans to make English the official language of the European Union. Urquhart then sets out to reunify Cyprus, both for the publicity and in the hopes of winning offshore oil rights for Britain, but his hardline manoeuvring in the Cyprus settlement lead to his downfall. Hoping to provoke another "Falklands War" (a successful foreign war to boost government popularity), Urquhart deliberately triggers a disaster in Cyprus that results in the death of civilians, including young schoolgirls. Urquhart's support plummets, and when he proves unwilling to accept responsibility for the deaths or express sympathy for the victims, many MPs openly call on him to resign. On July 30, 2003, Urquhart was assassinated at the unveiling of the Margaret Thatcher statue in Parliament Square. The assassination was arranged by his wife Elizabeth to spare Urquhart the shame of exposure, resignation, trial, life imprisonment, and historical damnation (his opponents were close to uncovering his shady past). His former deputy prime minister and foreign secretary, Tom Makepeace, was appointed prime minister upon Urquhart's death. Urquhart was given a state funeral, and his party won a landslide re-election in the 2005 general election.
Having led the Conservative Party to victory in three consecutive general elections in 1995, 1997, and 2002, he ranks among the most popular party leaders in British history in terms of votes cast for the winning party. He is the most recent prime minister to have died in office, and his assassination was the most recent assassination of a prime minister since Spencer Perceval in 1812. Although public favourability of Urquhart has improved since his assassination, his premiership has generally been viewed as average in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers.
Early life and career prior to House of Cards[]
Early life[]
Francis Euan Urquhart was born in 1936, the youngest of the Earl of Bruichcladdich's three sons; his oldest brother Aliister was killed during World War II, while his middle brother William worked for the family estate and occasionally sat in the House of Lords. Urquhart was from an aristocratic family with roots in the Scottish aristocracy. Urquhart's grandfather died with no thought of how to avoid the venality of the Exchequer, and his father's painful sentimentality toward and attachment to tradition had brought the estate’s finances to their knees.
Urquhart's childhood was spent roaming alone with no more than a dog and a satchelful of books across the heathers of the family estates in Scotland had attuned him well to his own company, but it was never enough. He needed others, not simply to mix with but against whom to measure himself. It was what had driven him South, that and the financial despair of the Scottish Highlands.
Francis Urquhart during his youth
Fettes College and Oxford University[]
Urquhart was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh (although he often wore an Old Etonian tie) where, although not noted for brilliance, he was recognised for his diligence and industriousness. After the end of his military career, Urquhart took up a deferred place at the University of Oxford reading History, where he narrowly missed getting a First. He later taught Renaissance Italian History at the university, becoming an authority on the Medici and Machiavelli. Urquhart married Elizabeth McCullough, eldest daughter of whisky magnate William McCullough, in 1960. Urquhart later abandoned academia in favour of politics.
Military career[]
Urquhart joined the British Army at age 18, and spent three years in Cyprus during the Cyprus Emergency of 1955-59 , where he was commended for bravery in his capture and interrogation of Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA) terrorists. During a mission in 1956, Urquhart killed Georgios and Euripides Passolides, two Greek Cypriot guerrillas. Urquhart resigned his commission after a colleague was court-martialed for accidentally killing a suspect.
Early political career[]
Urquhart in the 1970s, as a backbench MP for New Forest (later New Forest East and New Forest West)
After his father's suicide, Urquhart resolved to enter politics rather than maintain his father's estate, leading to his mother disowning him. He abandoned the academia and, turning to politics, joined the Conservative Party and was elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of New Forest in 1974. As a Member of Parliament, Urquhart was a Privy Councillor that gave him the prefix of Right Honourable, a Minister of the Crown, and a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Over the next decade, Urquhart rose in the ranks of the Conservative Party, steadily rising to the position of Chief Whip of the Conservative Party and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in 1987. He previously served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1984 to 1985, the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1985 to 1987, Minister of State for the Home Office from 1987 to 1989, and the Chief of Staff for Margaret Thatcher from 1984 to 1987. Urquhart was described as being on the hard right within the Conservative Party.
Chief Whip (1987-1992)[]
Thatcher appointed Urquhart to the roles of Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in 1987, succeeding John Wakeham. She was known for using Urquhart as a "cabinet enforcer. Describing himself as a "backroom boy" who keeps the troops in line, Urquhart was praised by his Conservative colleagues as being one of the best Chief Whips in the party's history. His job provided him with splendid offices at 12 Downing Street. Urquhart’s power didn’t stem directly from his public office, as the role of Chief Whip didn’t carry full Cabinet rank. Urquhart had no great Department of State or massive civil service machine to command; his was a faceless task, toiling ceaselessly behind the scenes, making no public speeches and giving no television interviews.
Urquhart during his tenure as Chief Whip of the Conservative Party
A man of discipline, Urquhart was an enforcer, the one whose job it was to put a bit of stick about. That meant he was not simply respected but also a little feared. He was the minister with the most acute political antennae in government. In order to deliver the vote, day after day, night after night, he needed to know where his Members of Parliament were likely to be found, which meant he needed to know their secrets—with whom they were conspiring, with whom they might be sleeping, whether they would be sober enough to vote, whether they had their hands in someone else’s pocket or on someone else’s wife. All these secrets with their sharp little edges were gathered together and kept in a black book, locked inside a safe, and not even the Prime Minister had access to the keys. Many in Urquhart’s parliamentary party owed their continuing position to the ability of the Whips’ Office to sort out and occasionally cover up their personal problems. Backbenchers intent on rebellion or frontbenchers distracted by ambition found themselves changing their minds when reminded of some earlier indiscretion that had been forgiven by the Party, but never forgotten.
Tim Stamper served as a Junior Whip under Urquhart, and the two became close friends and allies. In addition to being uniquely dedicated to Urquhart, Stamper additionally seemed to have taken experience from him in regards to negotiation tactics. Both were often slippery, dubious, and threatening, intending to create fear within opponents and advocates. Following Thatcher's resignation after a challenge was launched into her leadership, the moderate but indecisive Henry Collingridge emerges as both Thatcher's successor and the leader of the Conservative Party after winning the 1990 Conservative Party leadership election; he retains Urquhart as Chief Whip, and the party wins the next general election with a reduced majority.
House of Cards[]
Run-up to becoming Prime Minister (1991-1992)[]
Urquhart submitting his memorandum to Henry Collingridge
Although he was well respected among his Conservative colleagues as Chief Whip, Urquhart looked for a change, a bit of new experience, and a new challenge, hoping to be appointed to the senior ministerial position of Foreign Secretary. After the Conservative Party's victory at the 1990 general election, Urquhart submits a memorandum to Collingridge advocating a cabinet reshuffle that would contemplate Urquhart's appointment as Foreign Secretary. Urquhart believed that the time had come for change in Britain, and he proposed the appointment of many rural and right-wing Conservatives. However, Collingridge discards Urquhart's proposals on the basis that doing so would probably adversely affect the party's popularity, citing Harold Macmillan's political demise after the 1962 Night of the Long Knives. Collingridge also said that Urquhart would be more use to him as the Chief Whip instead of Foreign Secretary. Enraged, Urquhart begins plotting an intricate, long-term political revenge.
Urquhart with journalist Mattie Storin, whom he used to leak information
At the same time, with Elizabeth's blessing, Urquhart begins an affair with Mattie Storin, a junior political reporter at a Conservative-leaning tabloid newspaper called The Chronicle. The affair allows Urquhart to manipulate Storin and indirectly skew her coverage of the Conservative leadership contest in his favour. Storin has an apparent Electra complex; she finds appeal in Urquhart's much older age and later refers to him as "Daddy". Another unwitting pawn is Roger O'Neill, the party's cocaine-addicted public relations consultant. Urquhart blackmails O'Neill into leaking information on budget cuts that humiliates Collingridge during the Prime Minister's Questions. Later, he blames party chairman Theodore Billsborough for leaking an internal poll showing a drop in Tory numbers, leading Collingridge to sack him. As Collingridge's image suffers, Urquhart encourages ultraconservative Foreign Secretary Patrick Woolton and Chronicle owner Benjamin Landless to support his removal. He also poses as Collingridge's alcoholic brother Charles to trade shares in a chemical company about to benefit from advance information confidential to the government. Consequently, Collingridge becomes accused of insider trading and is forced to resign.
Conservative leadership bid[]
Urquhart announcing his candidacy in the 1991 Conservative Party leadership election
In the ensuing leadership race, Urquhart initially feigns unwillingness to stand before announcing his candidacy. With the help of Stamper, Urquhart goes about making sure his competitors drop out of the race: Health Secretary Peter MacKenzie accidentally runs his car over a disabled protester at a demonstration staged by Urquhart and is forced by the public outcry to withdraw, while Education Secretary Harold Earle is blackmailed into withdrawing when Urquhart anonymously sends pictures of him in the company of a rent boy whom Earle had paid for sex.
The first ballot leaves Urquhart to face Patrick Woolton and Michael Samuels, the moderate Environment Secretary supported by Billsborough. Urquhart eliminates Woolton by a prolonged scheme: at the party conference, he pressures O'Neill into persuading his personal assistant and lover, Penny Guy, to have a one-night stand with Woolton in his suite, which Urquhart records via a bugged ministerial red box. When the tape is sent to Woolton, he is led to assume that Samuels is behind the scheme and backs Urquhart in the contest. Urquhart also receives support from Collingridge, who is unaware of Urquhart's role in his own downfall. Samuels is forced out of the running when the tabloids reveal that he backed leftist causes as a student at University of Cambridge.
Urquhart moments before murdering Storin
Stumbling across contradictions in the allegations against Collingridge and his brother, Storin begins to dig deeper. On Urquhart's orders, O'Neill arranges for her car and flat to be vandalised in a show of intimidation. However, O'Neill becomes increasingly uneasy with what he is being asked to do, and his cocaine addiction adds to his instability. Urquhart mixes O'Neill's cocaine with rat poison, causing him to kill himself when taking the cocaine in a motorway service station lavatory on the M27 at Rownhams. Though initially blind to the truth of matters thanks to her relations with Urquhart, Storin eventually deduces that Urquhart is responsible for O'Neill's death and is behind the unfortunate downfalls of Collingridge and all of Urquhart's rivals.
Storin looks for Urquhart at the point when it seems his victory is certain. She eventually finds him on the roof garden of the Houses of Parliament, where she confronts him. He admits to O'Neill's murder and everything else he has done. He then asks whether he can trust Storin, and, though she answers in the affirmative, he does not believe her and throws her off the roof onto a van parked below, killing her instantly. As a group of people rush to inspect the scene, someone picks up one of Storin's recorded conversations with Urquhart. After winning the final ballot, Urquhart is driven to Buckingham Palace to be invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government as Prime Minister.
First term of premiership[]
Urquhart being driven to Buckingham Palace to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II
Urquhart accepts the Queen's invitation to form a government, beginning his premiership. He was the last prime minister to serve under the Queen, being appointed a few years before the monarch's death. Urquhart started his time in Downing Street with a renewed determination to bring the British people together, to put an end to the constant drip of cynicism that eroded so much of the British national life, and to devote himself to the country’s cause. Urquhart appointed Stamper as Chief Whip, appointed Tom Makepeace as his Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, and appointed Corder as his bodyguard and security advisor. As prime minister, Urquhart supported abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription, banning pensioners from the NHS unless they paid for age insurance, and opposed the welfare state. Urquhart will go on to led his party to victory in the 1995 general election.
To Play the King[]
Urquhart at Prime Minister's Questions
After the election, Urquhart began feeling a sense of anti-climax. Having gained great power and influence, he wonders how to use them. His wife comments that he needs a challenge. This challenge is shortly provided in the form of the newly crowned King of the United Kingdom, who is displeased with the Conservative government led by Urquhart and becomes involved in politics in a way that Urquhart finds unacceptable for a constitutional monarch. At their first meeting, the King expresses concern about Urquhart's social policies, which he argues have led to greater problems for urban areas. Tensions escalate when Urquhart moves his moderate Environment Secretary to a job in Strasbourg after rejecting his proposals to regenerate inner cities. The King's Assistant Press Secretary, Chloe Carmichael, leaks the outcome of the meeting to the press, which rankles Urquhart.
Fearing the King will weaken his position, Urquhart obtains "regal insurance" from Princess Charlotte, the former wife of a royal family member. Stamper persuades her to divulge lurid details about the Monarchy to Sir Bruce Bullerby, the editor of the Daily Clarion tabloid, on condition the information is published after her death. Urquhart also begins regularly meeting with the King's ex-wife, repeatedly assuring her that he has no intention of disturbing the Monarchy, implying he would support the early accession of her teenaged son as King.
The King and his staff produce a public service announcement implicitly denouncing how Urquhart's policies have affected Britain and covertly rally Opposition leaders to join forces against the Prime Minister. Irked by this intransigence, Urquhart calls an early election in 1997. Elizabeth introduces him to a pollster named Sarah Harding and persuades him to choose her as a political advisor. Urquhart is impressed with Harding's intelligence and starts to favour her over Stamper, who becomes increasingly bitter after Urquhart reneged on a promise to make him Home Secretary during a cabinet reshuffle. Stamper plans to betray Urquhart by collecting evidence of Urquhart's murder of Storin, intending to use it against Urquhart and have a leadership contest held, to which Stamper would hope to win and emerge as the new Prime Minister. Urquhart eventually begins an affair with Harding, which puts a strain on her marriage. Through all this, he continues to be haunted by his murder of Storin; unbeknownst to him, Stamper possesses Storin's tape recording of her own death. Corder puts the King and other enemies under surveillance.
Urquhart during a meeting with the newly crowned King of the United Kingdom
After a brief abduction by some homeless thugs, Harding is told to ask him about Storin. Despite her feelings for Urquhart, Harding begins to question his version of events about the tragedy. She meets John Krajewski, a former colleague of Storin's who is now a paranoid freelance journalist. Corder and his staff execute Krajewski and blame it on Irish republican terrorists. Meanwhile, Urquhart threatens the King with Charlotte's memoirs, saying that he will be forced to publish them if the King continues publicly to oppose him. The King, however, refuses to be blackmailed. Urquhart engages in secret meetings with the King's ex-wife, who urges him not to back down. He also blackmails Bullerby into publishing Charlotte's memoirs in the Daily Clarion, threatening to release images of his sexual relationship with the princess.
While the royal scandal succeeds in hurting the King's popularity, the polls reverse when Conservative MP John Staines is arrested for sex with a minor. A furious Urquhart blames Stamper for the fallout, having put Staines in the public arena moments before his arrest. Mycroft, the King's closeted advisor, begins fearing his sexual orientation may damage the King's standing, having seen Staines in a gay bar with an underage boy before the arrest. Mycroft eventually decides to come out to the King's press corps, at the same time announcing his resignation.
The deadly explosion of a tower block, as a result of a tenant's tapping into the gas main, puts the King's arguments about social problems back into the public domain. Urquhart announces his intention of having unemployed youth from the estates conscripted into the Armed Forces, re-enacting a form of peacetime national service. The King organises a bus tour visiting disadvantaged council estates to show his concern, refusing to include a security detail. Urquhart arranges for Corder to have the King abducted by thugs during his tour of an estate in Manchester. The Parachute Regiment, secretly shadowing the King's tour on Urquhart's orders, rescues him from possible harm. The King is seen as foolish for his negligence in the matter of security, and Urquhart seems like a hero for having protected him.
Urquhart telling The King that he must abdicate, upon the former's victory in the general election
Meanwhile, Corder discovers that Stamper has passed information on Storin's murder to Harding as insurance. With urging from Elizabeth, Urquhart orders Corder to assassinate them. The Conservatives subsequently win the general election with a 22-seat overall majority. With his policies vindicated by the electorate, despite the King's public opposition, Urquhart demands his abdication. Harding's car explodes when she is en route to meet Carmichael, while Stamper's car explodes outside New Scotland Yard. The media interpret the car bombings as Provisional IRA attacks. The King abdicates in favour of his teenage son, whom Urquhart expects to be a much less influential monarch. With a tame monarch and no threat in sight, Urquhart is secure as prime minister. He went on to win the 2002 general election, becoming the first Conservative prime minister to win three successive general elections since Thatcher.
The Final Cut[]
Urquhart at Margaret Thatcher's funeral
After his third election victory, Urquhart adds several other ministers to his cabinet, including Geoffrey Booza-Pitt as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and later Foreign Secretary, Betsy Bourke as the Health Secretary, Dick Caul as the Environment Secretary, Henry Ponsonby as the Cabinet Secretary, John Rayner as Home Secretary, and Hilda Cordwainer in an undisclosed cabinet position. After Thatcher's death in 2001, Urquhart attends her state funeral. He publicly praises Thatcher as his mentor, but privately begrudges her record as the longest-serving prime minister in recent history, a record that Urquhart himself is soon to surpass. He aspires to be remembered as the best prime minister since Winston Churchill.
Urquhart meeting Maria Passolides
To leave his mark on the world, Urquhart champions a treaty resolving the Cyprus dispute while secretly working to bring offshore oil deposits under the control of the Turkish authorities on the island so that a Turkish-British consortium will have the drilling rights; an executive of the consortium has promised to provide for Urquhart's retirement fund in return. On a motorway near London, Urquhart's limousine is forced off the road by a car containing three drunken louts. The attackers threaten Urquhart's party with baseball bats, but are unlawfully shot dead by security staff as they approach. Urquhart himself sustains minor head injuries in the collision, but his life is not endangered. When Elizabeth arrives at hospital, he is delirious and confuses the incident on the motorway with the incident in Cyprus. Makepeace chairs a cabinet meeting while Urquhart is in hospital; Urquhart considers Makepeace – the actual negotiator of the Cyprus treaty – as a potential challenger, although he does not take the threat very seriously, considering him "not a fighter" but "a sentimental dreamer".
Evanghelos Passolides, the brother of the murdered Greek Cypriot guerrillas who witnessed their deaths, lives in London and recognises Urquhart as the soldier who killed them. He asks his daughter Maria to investigate while secretly considering taking vengeance on Urquhart. Maria's search of government records finds a report on the incident written by Urquhart, but his name is redacted. Upon being approached by Maria on the rooftop of the House of Commons, Urquhart arranges for documents revealing his involvement to be excluded from a coincidental declassification of British records relating to Cyprus. But he also confides the truth to Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Urquhart appoints ambitious backbencher Claire Carlsen as his Parliamentary Private Secretary. Carlsen also happens to be Makepeace's lover. She subsequently plays the two men against each other.
Encouraged by Carlsen, Urquhart enrages Makepeace by making a speech in the House of Commons suggesting that Britain should not adopt the European currency, but that Europe should instead adopt English as its official language. When Urquhart told Makepeace that he was being sacked as Foreign Secretary and would appoint Makepeace to the Department of Education in a cabinet reshuffle, Makepeace instead chose to resign himself and returned to the backbenches of the House of Commons, from where he crossed the floor and joined the Labour Party and opposed Urquhart's government from the opposition benches at Prime Minister's Questions. Makepeace demanded to know whether Urquhart had previous knowledge of the oil, and criticised his lack of transparency in the handling of the Cyprus Crisis; however, Urquhart used the crisis itself to distract his opponents' attention.
Makepeace challenges Urquhart for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Urquhart won the first leadership ballot but not by the required threshold, necessitating a second round. Meanwhile, Carlsen advises Maria to take her case to Makepeace, who repeatedly raises the cover-up in parliament. At Makepeace's suggestion, Carlsen purloins the unedited report on the Cyprus killings from the secret government archive where it is stored. However, Corder – informed by the archive clerk – seizes the document from her, who later gave it to Makepeace to set in motion Urquhart's downfall. Carlsen's photocopy of the document was thus rejected by Makepeace, who was by then already in possession of the original, and he refused to give Carlsen a place in his new government, as he saw her as "pure poison" due to her association with Urquhart.
Urquhart making a statement regarding Cyprus
Makepeace's leadership challenge has attracted enough support to convince Urquhart that his position is in jeopardy. He decides to leak information regarding the oil deposits in order to stir up a conflict in Cyprus as "our Falklands" to unite Britain under his leadership. When Greek nationalists kidnap a British diplomat and the Greek Cypriot President Dimitri Nicolaou, Urquhart deploys British troops to retrieve them. Though the troops successfully rescue the hostages, the intervention later results in the death of civilians, including young schoolgirls, largely because of the prime minister's drastic orders. Urquhart's support plummets, and when he proves unwilling to accept responsibility for the deaths or express sympathy for the victims, many MPs openly call on him to resign. While Urquhart appears defiant, his wife is worried, and she consults Corder for advice on how to save him. Corder advises "drastic measures", and informs her that he has sent a copy of Storin's tape, revealing Urquhart's role in both her death and the death of O'Neill, to Makepeace.
Makepeace confronts the prime minister and announces that he will publish the tape, but not before Urquhart has achieved his aim of surpassing Thatcher's record. After this, Urquhart again meets Maria on the rooftop of the House of Commons. The incriminating Cyprus report has been sent to Evanghelos anonymously – presumably by Corder – and Maria vows to publish it. Urquhart told Maria that her uncles were Urquhart's informants and that he killed them to prevent them from being killed by their own people, but Maria does not believe him. Saying his goodbyes to Maria, Urquhart briefly contemplated killing her by throwing her off the rooftop (as he had previously done with Storin twelve years prior), but ultimately decided not to.
While Urquhart appeared defiant over Makepeace and Maria saying they will publish the tape and the Cyprus report, refusing to resign as he was close to beating Thatcher's record for time served in office, Elizabeth was worried, and she consulted Corder for advice on how to save him. Corder advised "drastic measures". Elizabeth decided to have her husband assassinated to spare him the shame of exposure, resignation, trial, life imprisonment, and historical damnation (his opponents were close to uncovering his shady past).
Assassination[]
Urquhart's death
At the unveiling of the Margaret Thatcher statue in Parliament Square, on the day when Urquhart surpasses her record as the longest serving prime minister in modern history (having been prime minister for 4,228 days – one day longer than Thatcher), a sniper in Corder's services appears on a rooftop and shoots the prime minister. Moments later he shoots Evanghelos, who had approached Urquhart with a pistol.
Urquhart's assassination resulted in Makepeace being elected unopposed as the next Conservative Party leader, and succeeded Urquhart as Prime Minister. Urquhart’s body lay in state in the Great Hall at Westminster where the public filed past to pay homage without pause. His party won a landslide victory unprecedented in modern electoral history in the 2005 general election, out of sympathy for Urquhart's assassination two years prior.
Politics[]
Urqhuart lives in Lyndhurst, Hampshire and originally represented the county constituency of New Forest for the Conservative Party, later representing the country constituencies of New Forest East and New Forest West. He is right-wing and his policies include abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription and banning pensioners from National Health Service treatment unless they have paid for Age Insurance. He describes himself to Elizabeth as "a plain, no-nonsense, old-fashioned Tory." When The King accuses Urquhart of practically abandoning Scotland and Wales, Urquhart notes that he detests the welfare state and contemporary youth culture.
Urquhart's foreign policy is Anglocentric; he thinks that Britain has more to teach the world, and Europe in particular, than the other way around. He would like to see the rest of the European Union speaking English – a position that would then completely alienate Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Tom Makepeace. Besides this, his strong belief in discipline and the rule of law shapes his foreign policy in Cyprus, where he authorises the use of force against schoolgirls who are blocking military vehicles. Ideologically, Urquhart was described as being on the hard right within the Conservative Party.
Legacy[]
Political impact[]
Urquhart outside 10 Downing Street
Urquhart was the longest serving prime minister in post-WWII history. He started his premiership with a renewed determination to bring the British people together, to put an end to the constant drip of cynicism that eroded so much of the British national life, and to devote himself to the country’s cause. Towards the end of his premiership, Urquhart became increasingly obsessed with making his mark on history. Initially, he wanted nothing more than to beat Margaret Thatcher's record for days in office, and aspired to be remembered as "the best prime minister since Winston Churchill."
Urquhart is the most recent prime minister to have died in office, and his assassination was the most recent assassination of a prime minister since Spencer Perceval in 1812. Urquhart is the most recent prime minister to have served under three monarchs (Elizabeth II, The King, and The King's son) since Stanley Baldwin (George V, Edward VIII, and George VI).
Overview[]
During Urquhart's premiership, homelessness began to rise and Urquhart's solution was to bring back national service. As prime minister, Urquhart supported abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription, banning pensioners from the NHS unless they paid for age insurance, and opposed the welfare state. He also had plans to make English the official language of the European Union. Urquhart despised youth culture and the welfare state, believed in compulsory national service, and dismissed the poor as "layabouts" and "lazy people". Urquhart also pushed his hardline agenda despite opposition from the monarchy.
Urquhart's foreign policy is Anglocentric; he thinks that Britain has more to teach the world, and Europe in particular, than the other way around. He would like to see the rest of the European Union speaking English – a position that would then completely alienate Foreign Secretary Tom Makepeace. Besides this, his strong belief in discipline and the rule of law shapes his foreign policy in Cyprus, where he authorises the use of force against schoolgirls who are blocking military vehicles.
Reputation[]
Newspaper encouraging Urquhart to stand in the 1991 Conservative Party leadership election
Urquhart was known for using conspiracies and betrayals to eliminate his enemies and advance his own position, notably doing this to cause Henry Collingridge to resign and to eliminate his opponents in the 1991 Conservative Party leadership election. Urquhart also frequently clashed with The King after the King was determined to play a more active role in government, encouraging ideas of liberalism which directly contrasted with Urquhart's hard conservative policies. After winning the 1997 United Kingdom general election, Urquhart successfully pressured the King into abdicating.
Urquhart's popularity in his first years in office waned amid rising homelessness. British newspapers took notice of Urquhart distinctive initials "FU" and made use of them throughout his time as Prime Minister, announcing the reassignment of his Environment Minister with the headline of "FU DICK.". Later, when Urquhart's popularity evaporated entirely, the headlines simply read "F OFF FU".
In his third term, Urquhart wanted to leave a legacy by reuniting Cyprus, but his hardline manoeuvring in the Cyprus settlement resulted in the death of civilians, including young schoolgirls, largely because of his drastic orders. Urquhart's support plummeted, and when he proved unwilling to accept responsibility for the deaths or express sympathy for the victims, many MPs openly called on him to resign. Following this, his wife Elizabeth decided to have her husband assassinated to spare him the shame of exposure, resignation, trial, life imprisonment, and historical damnation (his opponents were close to uncovering his shady past).
Urquhart's tenure of 11 years and 210 days as British prime minister was the longest since Margaret Thatcher (11 years and 209 days) and also had the longest continuous period in office since Thatcher. He refused to relinquish his position until he beat Thatcher's record as the longest serving prime minister in modern history, and upon his assassination, ultimately ended up beating her record by one day.
Behind the Scenes[]
|
"From the moment I read the first scripts, I felt that not only was it the biggest acting opportunity to come my way since my Shakespeare days, but probably was going to be something rather special on the box." |
Francis Urquhart was portrayed by Ian Richardson, who won a BAFTA award for his performance.
Francis Urquhart was portrayed in the BBC TV adaptation of the House of Cards trilogy by Ian Richardson, who won a BAFTA award for his performance. He appeared as the main protagonist and antihero of House of Cards, To Play the King, and The Final Cut. The plot of the House of Cards trilogy follows Urquhart's amoral and manipulative scheme to become leader of the governing Conservative Party and, thus, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Michael Dobbs stated that the inspiration behind Urquhart came during a drinking session at a swimming pool after a tense encounter with Margaret Thatcher, deliberately creating a character moulded around the initials "FU". Richardson was offered the role of Urquhart for the BBC TV adaptation of House of Cards in 1990, which he immediately accepted.
Richardson based his portrayal of the character on a representative of the British Council whom he met whilst touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Japan. While acknowledging that playing Urquhart brought him immediate public recognition, Richardson stated that as a Scottish Presbyterian, he found Urquhart's "Machiavellian deviousness" and sex appeal "really rather revolting". Nevertheless, despite finding him "an irritating bugger", Richardson found Urquhart "a joy to play". Urquhart also took inspiration from contemporary Conservative politicians, including the fearsome Conservative Party whip Tristan Garel-Jones.
Urquhart is depicted as a ruthless politician and political schemer who rises from Chief Whip of the Conservative Party to Prime Minister through treachery, deception and murder. He is married to Elizabeth Urquhart, and also has sexual relationships with Mattie Storin in House of Cards and Sarah Harding in To Play the King. Some of Urquhart's dialogue throughout the series is presented in a direct address to the audience, a narrative technique that breaks the fourth wall. These narrative asides are notably an invention of the television adaptation, as the book used third-person narration throughout.
Urquhart has been described as conniving, Machiavellian, sociopathic, and a symbol of political corruption. Throughout the series, he manipulates and destroys several people, including those he calls friends, for his own ends. He is depicted as being willing to go to any lengths, even murder, to see that his intricate schemes paid off.
Appearances[]
- House of Cards Episode 1
- House of Cards Episode 2
- House of Cards Episode 3
- House of Cards Episode 4
- To Play the King Episode 1
- To Play the King Episode 2
- To Play the King Episode 3
- To Play the King Episode 4
- The Final Cut Episode 1
- The Final Cut Episode 2
- The Final Cut Episode 3
- The Final Cut Episode 4
Personality[]
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"You may very well think that, I couldn't possibly comment." |
Urquhart at a cabinet meeting
Urquhart is a Machiavellian political schemer and completely ruthless, willing to go to any lengths, even murder, to see that his intricate schemes pay off. A self-described "old-fashioned, no-nonsense Tory", he despises youth culture and the welfare state, believes in compulsory national service, and dismisses the poor as "layabouts" and "lazy people".
He is well-known for his catchphrase "You may very well think that, I couldn't possibly comment", which he uses as a deniable way of leaking information or letting someone know what he really thinks without saying it outright. Urquhart is portrayed as having few other interests outside politics, though he is an avid reader of Italian Renaissance poetry and Elizabethan/Jacobean drama, with John Webster and Cyril Tourneur being among his favourite authors. He frequently quotes William Shakespeare, particularly Macbeth. Urquhart owned a copy of Margaret Thatcher’s memoirs, The Downing Street Years, and Julius Caesar, his favourite play.
Urquhart comes from an aristocratic background and shows disdain for other politicians who don't. Even before Henry Collingridge snubbed him for promotion, Urquhart didn't think he was worthy of being prime minister for his undistinguished background. Urquhart occasionally indulges in petty malice. When Collingridge tells his cabinet he has decided to resign he asks them to keep it secret so he can announce it on his own terms later that day. Urquhart leaks it to the press as soon as the meeting ends, causing reporters to pursue Collingridge before he announces and robbing him of what dignity he had left. In To Play the King, Urquhart mentions how a "small war" can be a politically exhilarating experience. In The Final Cut, he deliberately engineers a war in Cyprus in a last-ditch effort to stay in power.
Urquhart wins people over by being calm, decisive, charming, and someone they know they can rely on in a pinch, all the while calculating how best to stab them in the back. As the series goes on, however, his cold, snake-like qualities become more apparent to those around him. A large part of To Play the King revolves around his cold, aloof image compared to the King's heart and humanity. Urquhart simply cannot understand why the king continues to speak out against the government when none of his policies have affected the king directly. When the king tells him its because he wants to see all of his subjects prosper and be happy, Urquhart laughs off the notion and simply believes the king wants to make a power play. Urquhart states to the audience and the King himself that the reason he destroys the King and demands his abdication is not out of personal hate but because he feels the King is threatening the constitutional monarchy. It's unclear if this is his real motive or just a lie he tells to justify his actions. In the novel, it is the king himself who decides to abdicate against Urquhart's wishes and plans.
Urquhart's exploits only escalate after the first serial:
- To Play the King has Urquhart picking a fight with and ultimately destroying the King after he speaks out against the disastrous effects of the Urquhart government's social policies.
- The Final Cut shows Urquhart willing to sabotage a peace settlement in Cyprus (which he had previously spearheaded) and trigger a civil war in order to beat Margaret Thatcher's record for days in office.
Frank Underwood is an Americanized version of Urquhart, portrayed by Kevin Spacey
Urquhart-Underwood comparisons[]
Frank Underwood is an Americanized version of Urquhart who appears as the villainous main protagonist of the American adaptation of House of Cards, portrayed by Kevin Spacey. Underwood employs deceit, cunning, murder, and blackmail to influence and pursue the office of President of the United States. According to series producer Beau Willimon, the change in last name stemmed from the "Dickensian" feeling and "more legitimately American" sounding resonance of the name 'Underwood'. Whereas Urquhart is an aristocrat by birth, Underwood is a self-made man, having been born into a poor Southern family with an alcoholic father. Urquhart was one of television's first antiheroes, whereas Underwood follows the more recent rash of antiheroes that includes Tony Soprano of The Sopranos, Walter White of Breaking Bad, and Dexter Morgan of Dexter. However, unlike most other antiheroes, Underwood is not forced into immorality either by circumstance (White), birth (Soprano) or upbringing (Morgan). Although the character is based on the BBC show's lead character, in interviews during the writing and filming of season 2, creator and showrunner Willimon said that he used Lyndon B. Johnson as a source of themes and issues addressed in House of Cards. Unlike the right wing Urquhart, who leads the Conservative Party, Underwood is a member of the Democratic Party, but cares little for ideology in favor of "ruthless pragmatism" in furthering his own political influence and power.
Quotes[]
- "Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest, the most glittering reign must come to an end someday.”
- "Plenty of contenders. Old warriors, young pretenders. Lord Bilsborough, say — party chairman, too old and too familiar, tainted by a thousand shabby deals. Michael Samuels — too young and too clever. Patrick Woolton — bit of a lout, bit of a bully-boy. Yes, it could well be Woolton. Henry Collingridge — the people’s favourite, a well-meaning fool, no background and no bottom. What, me? Oh, no no no. I’m the Chief Whip, merely a functionary. I keep the troops in line. I put a bit of stick around. I make them jump. And I shall, of course, give my absolute loyalty to whoever emerges as my leader."
- "Alright. We have been in power longer than any party since the war. It's a new kind of challenge, we need to show that we're not stagnating, that we are capable of self-renewal. Your own succession to the leadership, prime minister, is a very good example of the sort of thing I mean. Well, I think we've had a pretty clear indication from the country that people are looking for some kind of change."
- "You will remember, prime minister, that some months ago, we talked about the possibility that after the election, there might be a senior ministerial post."
- "Nothing! Nothing! Not a damn thing! And then he had the gall to say that he counted on my support, he said his fate was in my hands, Elizabeth! Melodramatic twaddle!"
- "You may very well think that, I couldn't possibly comment."
- "An emergency cabinet meeting. Always sends a nice little thrill of anticipation down the spine. Someone's in trouble. Someone's going to get it in the neck. But not us, eh?"
- "His deepest need was that people should like him. An admirable trait that; in a spaniel, or a whore — not, I think, in a Prime Minister..."
- "What, me? Oh, no, no, no! I'm just a backroom boy! Plenty of able men about, after all. Plenty of ambitious men, too. No, we'll take our time about it, and will come up with the right choice in the end."
- "Oh, Mattie. It gives me such pain to say this, but I don't believe you. I don't believe I can trust you."
- "No, I have nothing to say. No! No! Don't you see? I had to do it. How could I have trusted her? You might very well think that, I could not possibly comment."
- "Well. What would you have? Britain must be governed, and you know who will do it best. If you will the end, you must will the means. These things happen all over the world. Believe me. It's all for the best. What's the matter? You do trust me, don't you? Of course you do."
- "The great beauty of conscription is that we'll be able to use 18 to 23 year olds to subdue their younger brothers in the inner cities and on those ghastly estates. And then we can think about exporting them. Use the British fighting man to redress the balance of trade."
- "Sir. I'm afraid you won't be of much interest as a commoner. I doubt if anyone will be particularly interested in what you have to say. You have no constituency, you see. No power base. You represent nothing but one talentless and discredited family. And very soon you won't even represent that. You will represent... nothing. You will mean nothing. You will be nothing."
- "All things pass. Nothing lasts for ever. She was a good bitch. She had a good life, and there are some things one prefers to do oneself."
- "I want to erase that woman from the public memory, Elizabeth. I want to wipe her off the board. I want to be remembered as the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill."
- "The honourable gentleman makes an excellent point and I entirely agree with him. Of course, we all want to bring about an effective single market in Europe. I'm not sure destroying the image of our young king on the coin of the realm, with all the disrespect to the monarchy that that implies, will bring utopia any closer, but there we are, the honourable gentleman believes it, and who am I to argue him into common sense and sanity? Let me say this to him, however, it is my conviction that we can do most good for Europe by being resolutely British! By showing Europe the way to go, rather than trotting at Europe's heels! Europe has a great deal more to learn from the cradle of democracy than it has to teach us! And, if the honourable gentleman doesn't believe that, perhaps he shouldn't be here at all, perhaps he should be rustling sheep in the border country like his ancestor! If we want to build a really efficient single market, here is a proposal I fully intend to subject to my fellow leaders at the summit - a single language for Europe! The waste of money involved in dealing in a multitude of languages must run into billions! Measured in whatever currency you will. Waste, confusion, understanding. Clearly, we need to be able to speak with one voice. I suppose it's just one of those accidents of history that the only possible language is English."
- "The right honourable gentleman has made a number of allegations and accusations on the parliamentary privilege. I wonder if he is prepared to face personal and financial ruin by repeating them outside parliament, where he will be subject to the law of the land. If not, then there is no more to be said. We can treat his words with the contempt they deserve. As for the rest of his intemperate remarks, might I remind the house that until a few weeks ago, the right honourable gentleman was a senior government minister. If he thought things were so dreadful, why didn't he say so then? And why didn't he do something about it?"
- "I never thought to hear such words spoken in this house. If the gentleman had set out to ferment unrest and violence, he could not have chosen a better way. Let him reflect. If more blood is shed in Cyprus, it will be upon his conscience, not upon mine."
- "175 of my honourable colleagues firmly intend to vote for me, 123 are almost certainly against me. How dare they! They owe me everything. Half of them wouldn't even have jobs let alone seats in Parliament. As if I hadn't won three elections in a row and kept their noses in the gravy and these stuffed suits, these lumps of lobby fodder dare to raise themselves against me?"
- "I am very happy to say that the rule of law has been reestablished in Cyprus, and that the British high commissioner is safe and well. Our British troops, some of them young national servicemen on their first mission, have done their country credit and will continue to do so. Later today, a military detachment under the command of Major Jardine will escort the British high commissioner and the President to the Capital in triumph!"
- "No. By no means order the airlift, but these people must understand that I will not be dictated to. Order him to clear the road by any means necessary. Use whatever it takes."
- "The death of a child is a terrible thing. But these children were coerced into illegal and riotous assembly by their own parents, and suffered a terrible consequence. You want a strong leader who is not afraid to act. You chose me. Whatever I do, whatever is done in my name, you partake of it."
- "I will outlast you. Six more days. I'm not done yet."
- "I will never give way. I will survive."
Trivia[]
- Urquhart's catchphrase, "You may very well think that, I couldn't possibly comment", has made its way into the lexicon in the UK, to the point that it is sometimes used in the Houses of Parliament.
- Some fans have speculated Urquhart's premiership came to an end on 30 July 2003. This is under the assumption he became Prime Minister on 1 January 1992 (as he mentioned taking office was a "New Year's present" in House of Cards) and also the fact he was Prime Minister longer than Margaret Thatcher by a day (the latter's tenure lasted 11 years 209 days).
- Urquhart is often compared to Richard III and Macbeth.
- Urquhart's downfall as prime minister is similar to that of Tony Blair; both prime ministers began their premierships with high approval ratings and won general election victories, but faced widespread backlash and calls for them to resign after they participated in a controversial war or conflict (the Iraq War for Blair and the Cyprus Conflict for Urquhart).
- The original version of the novel House of Cards features a radically different ending: Urquhart commits suicide after Mattie Storin exposes his crimes. The popularity of the first serial motivated Michael Dobbs to rewrite the novel's ending and create two follow-up novels, To Play the King and The Final Cut.
- In the novel, Urquhart allows himself to be killed by Evanghelos Passolides, martyring himself in the process by pushing his wife out of the way and saving her life. Makepeace does not challenge Urquhart for the leadership in the novel, but instead leads a popular movement to undermine Urquhart and his leadership. He is present when Urquhart is shot but does not win the premiership after being tainted by his association with Evanghelos. The premiership goes to Maxwell Stanbrook, the Environment Secretary.
- Even though he is assassinated at the end of the series, Urquhart never really gets punished for the murders of Roger O'Neill and Mattie Storin - the tape recording that Makepeace planned to use against him becomes useless with his death. In the final book, Urquhart organises his own assassination so he can salvage his reputation by heroically saving his wife, and manages to set up the destruction of Makepeace's political career in the process.
- Urquhart's opening narration at the start of "To Play the King" refers to his predecessor Henry Collingridge as a "frightfully nice man who talked a lot about the classless society." It's a clear reference to John Major, whose premiership doesn't exist in the "House of Cards" timeline.
- Urquhart's character inspired Frank Underwood. Series producer Beau Willimon explained that the last name Urquhart had been replaced with Underwood, which was both "Dickensian and more legitimately American" but maintained the initials F.U. Urquhart and Underwood share many similarities, but also have some differences;
- Both share first name and last initial.
- Both are betrayed by their party leader after wanting to become foreign secretary (secretary of state American equivalent)
- Both of them take their revenge.
- Unlike Urquhart, who is of aristocratic birth, Underwood is a self-made man, which Willimon thought was "more consonant with the American mythology".
- Both "break the fourth wall" by talking direct to the viewing audience through the camera.
- They both have an assassination attempt on them.
- Urquhart is from a very privileged family, while Underwood had to work his way up.
- Underwood survives the assassination attempt, while Urquhart does not.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Wakeham |
Chief Whip of the Conservative Party June 12, 1987 – January 1, 1992 |
Succeeded by Tim Stamper |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Henry Collingridge |
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1 January 1992 – 30 July 2003 |
Succeeded by Tom Makepeace |
| Preceded by Henry Collingridge |
Leader of the Conservative Party December 31, 1991 - July 30, 2003 |
Succeeded by Tom Makepeace |
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| House of Cards Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|
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101. "House of Cards Episode 1" |
201. "To Play the King Episode 1" |
301. "The Final Cut Episode 1" |