In today's world, Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington has become a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide variety of people. Whether due to its impact on society, its historical relevance, its importance in the scientific field or its influence on popular culture, Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington has captured the attention of millions around the world. This article seeks to thoroughly explore all aspects related to Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, analyzing its impact in different areas and offering a comprehensive and in-depth vision of this fascinating topic. From its origins to its current relevance, this article aims to provide a complete and detailed perspective on Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, offering readers a broader and richer understanding of this phenomenon.
Carington was Foreign Secretary in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. He took full responsibility for the failure to foresee this and resigned. As NATO secretary general, he helped prevent a war between Greece and Turkey during the 1987 Aegean crisis.
Following the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, Carington was created a life peer as Baron Carington of Upton.
Background and early life
The surname "Carrington" (with two Rs) was adopted by royal licence dated 1839 by his direct male ancestor Robert Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington, in lieu of Smith. The latter's father, Robert Smith, MP for Nottingham, was created Baron Carrington in 1796 (Peerage of Ireland) and 1797 (Peerage of Great Britain). The spelling of the surname was changed by royal licence to "Carington" (with one r) in 1880 by the 2nd Baron's sons, but the spelling of the title did not change.
When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970 under Edward Heath, Carington became Defence Secretary, where he remained until the February 1974 general election. In a 1977 letter discussing the policy of torture of Irish republican internees during Operation Demetrius in August 1971, the then Home Secretary Merlyn Rees attributed the origins of the policy to Carington: '"It is my view (confirmed by Brian Faulkner before his death ) that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/72 was taken by ministers – in particular Lord Carrington, then secretary of state for defence."
Carington was again leader of the opposition in the House of Lords from 1974 to 1979. In 1979 he was made Foreign Secretary and Minister for Overseas Development in the first cabinet of Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher spoke highly of Carington, stating that "Peter had great panache and the ability to identify immediately the main points in any argument; and he could express himself in pungent terms. We had disagreements, but there were never any hard feelings."
Carington was primarily responsible for ensuring the 1982 Canada act passed the House of Lords. Under the provisions of the act, which received Royal Assent on 29 March 1982, the British Parliament renounced any future role in amending the Canadian constitution, a process known in the former dominion as patriation.
Carington was foreign secretary when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982. He resigned his position on 5 April, taking full responsibility for the complacency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in its failure to foresee this development and for the misleading signals sent by the Foreign Office on British intentions for retaining control over the Falklands. In her autobiography, Margaret Thatcher later expressed her sorrow at his departure. She had asked him to stay but he left because he and the Foreign Office were distrusted and even hated by many back-bench Conservatives.
Lord Carrington was the last hereditary peer to hold one of the four Great Offices of State. After his resignation, no other member of the House of Lords held one of these offices until the appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as foreign secretary in 2023.
In 1991, he presided over diplomatic talks about the breakup of Yugoslavia and attempted to pass a plan to end the wars and result in each republic becoming an independent nation.
After the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, Carington, along with all former leaders of the House of Lords, was given a life peerage on 17 November 1999. He took this as Baron Carington of Upton, of Upton in the County of Nottinghamshire. He was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords, and following the retirement of Lord Barber of Tewkesbury in 2016, had been the oldest. He was the second longest-serving member of the Privy Council after the Duke of Edinburgh.
He died on 9 July 2018, aged 99, of natural causes at his home, the Manor House, in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. His son Rupert succeeded him as 7th Baron Carrington.
A memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 31 January 2019.
Family
Carington married Iona McClean (19 March 1920 – 7 June 2009), daughter of Lt Col. Sir Francis McCleanAFC and Aileen Wale, on 25 April 1942. They had three children: Alexandra de Bunsen DL (born 1943), Virginia Carington CVO (born 1946; formerly married to Lord Ashcombe), and Rupert Carington, 7th Baron CarringtonDL (born 1948). Carington's wife, Lady Carrington, died on 7 June 2009, aged 89.
In the 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far, John Stride played a Grenadier Guards captain at Nijmegen Bridge based on Carington. This portrayal depicted the historical argument between Carington and Major Julian Cook on whether to move forward along the "Hell's Highway" route.
An elephant's head erased or eared gules charged on the neck with three fleurs-de-lis, two and one azure.
Torse
Mantling: Or and sable.
Escutcheon
Or, a chevron cotised between three demi-griffins couped those in chief respectant sable.
Supporters
Two griffins wings elevated sable, the dexter charged on the body with three fleurs-de-lis palewise or and the sinister with three trefoils slipped palewise of the last.
^Kidd, Charles, Debrett's peerage & Baronetage, 2015 edition, London, 2015, p. 220, with existing addition of "couped", although demi-lions usually shown couped not erased.
^Chesshyre, Hubert (1996), The Friends of St. George's & Descendants of the Knights of the Garter Annual Review 1995/96, vol. VII, p. 287
^Kidd, Charles, Debrett's peerage & Baronetage, 2015 edition, London, 2015, p. 220, amended by existing text adding further clarity, namely "on the body". The charges are here not shown palewise (in a vertical column) as in the blazon. Debrett's blazon makes no mention of beaked etc., or as depicted.
Bennett, Harry. "Lord Carrington, 1979–82." in British Foreign Secretaries Since 1974 (Routledge, 2004), pp. 131–154.
Carrington, Peter Alexander Rupert Carington Baron. Reflect on things past: The memoirs of Lord Carrington (HarperCollins, 1988), a primary source.
Kedourie, Elie. "False inevitabilities." American Scholar (1990) 59#3, pp. 462–468, review.
Novak, Andrew. "Face-saving maneuvers and strong third-party mediation: the Lancaster house conference on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia." International Negotiation 14.1 (2009): 149–174. online[dead link]
Sharp, Paul. "The Thatcher-Carrington Partnership." in Thatcher's Diplomacy (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1997), pp. 30–49.
Tendi, Blessing-Miles. "Soldiers contra diplomats: Britain's role in the Zimbabwe/Rhodesia ceasefire (1979–1980) reconsidered." Small Wars & Insurgencies 26.6 (2015): 937–956.
Yorke, Edmund. "'A Family Affair': the Lancaster House Agreement." in Diplomacy at the Highest Level (Palgrave Macmillan, 1996), pp. 200–219.