The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. The ambassador's residence is on Massachusetts Avenue in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built in 1928.

Duties

The position of ambassador to the United States is considered to be one of the most important and prestigious posts in

His Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

, along with that of Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The ambassador's main duty is to present British policies to the American government and people, and to report American policies and views to the

Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. They serve as the primary channel of communication between the two nations, and play an important role in treaty negotiations. The ambassador is the head of the United Kingdom's consular service in the United States. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, they are ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to British citizens in America. They also oversee cultural relations between the two countries.

History

The first British envoy to the United States was Sir John Temple, who was appointed consul general in 1785 and was based in New York at the estate at Richmond Hill (Manhattan) which served previously as a headquarters for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. George Hammond was appointed on 5 July 1791. He held the title of Minister in Washington or Minister to the United States of America. In 1809, David Erskine and President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

negotiated a compromise on Anglo-American disputes over shipping in the Atlantic, which might have averted the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. However, the deal was rejected by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and the British Government recalled Erskine. By the 1850s, the envoy's title was Her Majesty's

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to the United States of America, and the United Kingdom had consulates in several American cities. Under the direction of Sir John Crampton in 1854 and 1855, British consuls attempted to enlist American volunteers to fight in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. The American government strenuously objected, and President Franklin Pierce asked for Crampton to be recalled. The United Kingdom refused, and in May 1856 the American government dismissed Crampton, along with the United Kingdom's consuls in New York,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. After much negotiation, the United Kingdom was allowed to re-establish its Legation in Washington the following year, and Lord Napier became the new minister. In 1893, the British diplomatic mission in Washington was raised from a Legation to an

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

, and Sir Julian Pauncefote, Minister since 1889, was appointed as the United Kingdom's first ambassador to the United States, with the title Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States. The role has in the past been offered to three former

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

: the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's wif ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

and Sir Edward Heath, all of whom declined.

Heads of mission

Minister plenipotentiary (1791–1795)

As a republic, the United States was not entitled to receive an ambassador. Instead, the United Kingdom dispatched a diplomat with the lower

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

of ''minister plenipotentiary''. This placed the United Kingdom on equal footing with France, which also maintained a minister plenipotentiary in the United States. 1791–1795: George Hammond

Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary (1796–1893)

In 1796, the United Kingdom raised its representation to ''

envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

'', or ''minister''. Diplomatic relations would be maintained at this rank for almost 100 years. *1796–1800: Sir Robert Liston *1800–1804: Sir Edward Thornton *1803–1806: Anthony Merry *1807–1809: Hon. David Erskine *1809–1811: Francis Jackson *1811–1812: Sir Augustus Foster *1812–1815: ''No representation due to the

'' *1815–1820: Hon. Sir Charles Bagot *1820–1824: Stratford Canning *1825–1835: Sir Charles Vaughan *1835–1843: Sir Henry Fox *1843–1847:

Richard Pakenham Sir Richard Pakenham PC (19 May 1797 – 28 October 1868) was a British diplomat of Anglo-Irish background. He served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1843 until 1847, during which time he unsuccessfully worked to prevent ...

*1849–1852: Sir Henry Bulwer *1852–1856: Sir John Crampton, Bt *1857–1858: Lord Napier *1858–1865:

Lord Lyons Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, 1st Earl Lyons (26 April 1817 – 5 December 1887) was a British diplomat, who was the favourite diplomat of Queen Victoria, during the four great crises of the second half of the 19th century: Italian unificat ...

*1865–1867: Sir Frederick Bruce *1867–1881: Sir Edward Thornton *1881–1888: Hon. Lionel Sackville-West *1889–''1893'': Sir Julian Pauncefote

Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary (from 1893)

*1893–1902: Sir Julian Pauncefote (Lord Pauncefote from 1899) *1902–1903: Hon. Sir Michael Herbert *1903–1906: Sir Mortimer Durand *1907–1913: James Bryce (later Viscount Bryce) *1913–1918: Sir Cecil Spring Rice *1918–1919: The Earl of Reading *1919–1920: Viscount Grey of Fallodon *1920–1924: Sir Auckland Geddes *1924–1930: Sir Esme Howard *1930–1939: Sir Ronald Lindsay *1939–1940: The Marquess of Lothian *1940–1946: Viscount Halifax (Earl of Halifax from 1944) *1946–1948: Lord Inverchapel *1948–1952: Sir Oliver Franks *1953–1956: Sir Roger Makins *1956–1961: Sir Harold Caccia *1961–1965: Hon. Sir David Ormsby-Gore (Lord Harlech from 1964) *1965–1969: Sir Patrick Dean *1969–1971: Rt. Hon. John Freeman *1971–1974: The Earl of Cromer *1974–1977: Hon. Sir Peter Ramsbotham *1977–1979: Hon. Peter Jay *1979–1982: Sir Nicholas Henderson *1982–1986: Sir Oliver Wright *1986–1991: Sir Antony Acland *1991–1995: Sir Robin Renwick *1995–1997: Sir John Kerr *1997–2003: Sir Christopher Meyer *2003–2007: Sir David Manning *2007–2012: Sir Nigel Sheinwald *2012–2016: Sir Peter Westmacott *2016–2019: Lord Darroch of Kew *2020–present: Dame Karen Pierce

Ambassadors in fiction

* Sir Everard Everett, in

Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

's ''

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit ''Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit'' is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 15 October 1954 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 23 February 1955 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under t ...

'' * Lord John Marbury, in

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

''. * Sir Mark Brydon, in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...