Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher
Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher GCVO KCB PC (
30 June 1852 -
22 January 1930) was a
historian and
Liberal politician in the
United Kingdom.
Brett was the son of
William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher. He began his political career in
1880, as
MP for
Penrhyn. However, five years later, he elected to withdraw from public politics in favour of a behind the scenes role. Upon his father's death on
24 May 1899, he inherited the hereditary peerage,
Viscount Esher.
In
1901, Lord Esher became deputy governor (and later governor) of
Windsor Castle, and remained close to the royal family until his death. During this period, he helped edit
Queen Victoria's papers, publishing a work called
Correspondence of Queen Victoria (
1907). Behind the scenes, he influenced many of the pre-
World War I reforms carried out by the Liberal governments of
Henry Campbell-Bannerman and
Herbert Henry Asquith, and was a supporter of the
United Kingdomâ€"
France Entente Cordiale. He was offered many public offices, including the
Viceroyalty of
India and the
Secretaryship for War, but declined, accepting instead an appointment to the
Privy Council in
1922.
He was
Deputy Constable and
Lieutenant-Governor of
Windsor Castle 1901 to
1928, when he became Constable and Governor, an office he held until his death in
1930.
Lord Esher was also a historian; besides the aforementioned work, he also published works on
King Edward VII and
Lord Kitchener.
Lord Esher's daughter, Sylvia, became the last Ranee of
Sarawak on
May 24,
1917, following the proclamation of her husband
Charles Vyner Brooke as
Rajah.