Part of the Royal Household, the Poet Laureate writes poems to mark moments in national life, including Royal events such as weddings, deaths and anniversaries.
Dates | Poet Laureate |
---|---|
1999-present | Andrew Motion |
1984-1998 | Ted Hughes |
1972-1984 | Sir John Betjeman |
1967-1972 | Cecil Day-Lewis |
1930-1967 | John Masefield |
1913-1930 | Robert Bridges |
1896-1913 | Alfred Austin |
1850-1892 | Alfred Lord Tennyson |
1843-1850 | William Wordsworth |
1813-1843 | Robert Southey |
1790-1813 | Henry James Pye |
1785-1790 | Thomas Warton |
1757-1785 | William Whitehead |
1730-1757 | Colley Cibber |
1718-1730 | Laurence Eusden |
1715-1718 | Nicholas Rowe |
1692-1715 | Nahum Tate |
1689-1692 | Thomas Shadwell |
1670-1689 | John Dryden |
1638-1668 | William Davenant |
1619-1637 | Ben Jonson |
1599-1619 | Samuel Daniel |
1591-1599 | Edmund Spenser |
Thanks to a pub quiz help user who spotted a spelling error