Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Wilmington to Theresa May) University college with most alumni Prime MinistersChrist Church, Oxford13 (George Grenville to Sir Alec Douglas-Home) Vocational institution with most Prime Ministers as studentsThe Inns of Court11 (Lord Wilmington to Tony Blair). Of these, eight passed through Lincoln's Inn (William Pitt the Younger to Tony Blair). The first Prime Minister never to have been a university graduate was the Duke of Devonshire (served 1756–57), the last (as of ) was John Major (served 1990–97). The earliest Prime Minister to be an armed forces veteran was Henry Pelham, Prime Minister in 1743–54, who had served as a volunteer
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom century as a convention of the constitution, the position of Leader of the Opposition was given statutory recognition in 1937 by the Ministers of the Crown Act. British Prime Ministers have never been elected directly by the public. A Prime Minister need not be a party leader; David Lloyd George was not a party leader during his service as prime Minister during World War I, and neither was Ramsay MacDonald from 1931 to 1935. Prime Ministers have taken office because they were members of either the Commons or Lords, and either inherited a majority in the Commons or won more