Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom spouses of former prime ministers: Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the wife or husband of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. To date, there have been forty-four women and two men who have been married to British prime ministers in office. There have also been four bachelor and nine widower prime ministers; the last bachelor was Edward Heath (1970–1974) and the last widower was Ramsay MacDonald (1924, 1929–1935). The Duke of Grafton (1766–1768) is the only Prime Minister to have divorced and remarried while
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Bonar Law's Parliamentary Private Secretary, J.C.C. Davidson acted in effect as his Chief of Staff. Margaret Thatcher's downfall from the Conservative Party leadership in 1990 is attributed by many to the actions of her Parliamentary Private Secretary, Peter Morrison, in failing accurately to count votes amongst Conservative backbenchers. Some Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister go on to hold higher office; Lord Dunglass served as Parliamentary Private Secretary under Neville Chamberlain and later went on to serve as Prime Minister in his own right. There can be multiple Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister at a given time.