David Starkey
David Robert Starkey arrived in the world on the 3rd of January 1945 within the quiet town of Kendal, Westmorland. He was the only child born to Quaker parents named Robert and Elsie Lyon. His father worked as a foreman at a washing-machine factory while his mother had been a cotton weaver before becoming a cleaner. They moved to Kendal during the Great Depression after marrying ten years earlier in Bolton. The family lived in an austere environment marked by near-poverty and frequent unemployment. This harsh upbringing taught him the value of money from a very young age. Starkey suffered from club feet that required multiple operations throughout his childhood. He also contracted polio which added physical challenges to his early life. A nervous breakdown struck him at age thirteen when he attended secondary school. His mother took him to a boarding house in Southport where he spent months recovering. He blamed the episode on the unfamiliar pressure of a highly competitive academic environment.
Starkey secured a scholarship to study history at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He earned a first-class degree followed by a PhD focused on King Henry VIII's inner household. Professor Sir Geoffrey Elton supervised his doctoral thesis work until their relationship soured over time. In 1972 he left Cambridge for the London School of Economics as a lecturer in international history. He ended his thirty-year university teaching career in 1998 citing boredom with administrative demands. His first television appearance occurred in 1977 on Granada Television's Behave Yourself programme. He later presented several historical documentaries including Henry VIII which won an Indie Award in 1998. The breathless delivery of his scripts became widely imitated by other presenters. In 2002 he signed a £2 million contract with Channel 4 to produce twenty-five hours of programming. This deal included Monarchy which chronicled English kings and queens from Anglo-Saxon times onward. Starkey also appeared on Jamie's Dream School in 2011 after teaching five history lessons there.
His frequent appearances on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze earned him the sobriquet of rudest man in Britain. He debated moral issues alongside panellists like Rabbi Hugo Gryn and Sir Roger Scruton since 1992. Starkey explained that his personality possessed a tendency towards showmanship and occasional silliness. The Daily Mail gave him this nickname while he told friends it was worth at least £100,000 a year. He once attacked George Austin over his fatness and pomposity during a debate. After nine years on the programme he left citing boredom with being Dr. Rude. An interview with Denis Healey proved one of his most embarrassing moments when the politician tore him limb from limb. His television documentaries on The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were ratings successes. Brian Viner called his 2009 series Henry: Mind of a Tyrant highly fascinating while A. A. Gill described it as Hello! history. Starkey complained that too many historians focused on Henry's wives rather than the king himself.
Starkey's political views changed from middle-of-the-road Labour left until the end of the 1970s to a conservative outlook. He attributed this shift to economic failures of the Callaghan government which he blamed for blowing the nation's finances. During the 1980s he was an active Conservative Party member and ran for Islington Borough Council in 1986. Following Labour's victory in 1997 he criticized Michael Howard for opposing top-up fees. He likened Gordon Brown to the fictional Kenneth Widmerpool due to a lack of humour and charm. In 2015 he said Ed Miliband had high ambition but low talent making them the worst possible combination. At the 2011 Conservative Party Conference he declared Mayor Boris Johnson a jester-despot. He urged the party to re-engage with the working class rather than the Guardian-reading middle class. Starkey supports one-nation conservatism and believes Benjamin Disraeli was a great symbol of this ideology. He argues that Victorian Prime Minister Disraeli was exotic, slippery and had a gift for language.
In August 2011 Starkey attracted criticism for comments made on BBC Two's Newsnight programme about the England riots. He cited Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech while claiming flames wrapped around Tottenham and Clapham. He stated that black culture had become fashionable among violent destructive nihilistic gangster types. When listening to David Lammy he claimed one would think the politician was white despite being an archetypal successful black man. Fellow panellists Owen Jones and Dreda Say Mitchell condemned the remarks as career-ending or ignorant. The Labour leader Ed Miliband called the comments racist with no place in society. Ofcom deemed the comments part of a serious discussion and took no action against him. One hundred two university historians signed an open letter asking broadcasters to think carefully before inviting him. They argued his generalisations demonstrated failure to grasp subtleties of race and class. In June 2020 he spoke about slavery during a podcast interview with Darren Grimes suggesting it was not genocide.
The Mary Rose Trust accepted his resignation from its board of trustees following widespread condemnation. The Historical Association announced it would withdraw the Medlicott Medal awarded twenty years prior. Fitzwilliam College accepted his resignation as honorary fellow on the 3rd of July 2020. Canterbury Christ Church University removed him from his visiting professor role for completely unacceptable remarks. History Today magazine removed him from their editorial board while Lancaster University revoked his honorary degree. HarperCollins terminated its book deal with Starkey and Hodder & Stoughton said they would publish no further books. Vintage Books reviewed the status of books by Starkey in their back catalogue. On the 6th of July 2020 he resigned his fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London at council request. The Metropolitan Police opened an investigation into stirring up racial hatred through the podcast comments. They dropped the investigation on the 14th of October stating it was no longer proportionate to continue. A backlash followed from politicians like Priti Patel who said freedom of speech should be protected generally.
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Common questions
When and where was David Starkey born?
David Robert Starkey arrived in the world on the 3rd of January 1945 within the quiet town of Kendal, Westmorland. He was the only child born to Quaker parents named Robert and Elsie Lyon.
What academic qualifications did David Starkey earn at Cambridge University?
Starkey secured a scholarship to study history at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He earned a first-class degree followed by a PhD focused on King Henry VIII's inner household under the supervision of Professor Sir Geoffrey Elton.
Why did David Starkey leave The Moral Maze after nine years?
After nine years on the programme he left citing boredom with being Dr. Rude. His frequent appearances on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze earned him the sobriquet of rudest man in Britain since 1992.
What happened during the August 2011 Newsnight controversy involving David Starkey?
In August 2011 Starkey attracted criticism for comments made on BBC Two's Newsnight programme about the England riots. He cited Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech while claiming flames wrapped around Tottenham and Clapham and stated that black culture had become fashionable among violent destructive nihilistic gangster types.
Which institutions removed honors from David Starkey following his June 2020 podcast remarks?
The Mary Rose Trust accepted his resignation from its board of trustees following widespread condemnation. Canterbury Christ Church University removed him from his visiting professor role for completely unacceptable remarks and Lancaster University revoked his honorary degree.