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
1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference become a republic and remain in the Commonwealth, if so, whether it had the same status in the Commonwealth as the dominions who had the British sovereign as their head of state. The Canadian government feared that if India was not permitted to remain in the Commonwealth as an autonomous republic then Pakistan, Ceylon, and South Africa would soon leave as well, resulting in the Commonwealth's collapse. Australian prime minister Ben Chifley was on one pole during the conference, arguing for maintaining a strong British connection, while South Africa's newly elected nationalist prime minister, D. F. Malan, was on the