View source for Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher

{{Short description|British politician and historian (1852–1930)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Viscount Esher
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|sep=|GCVO|KCB|PC|DL}}
| image = Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = 
| constituency_MP = [[Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Penryn and Falmouth]]
| parliament = United Kingdom
| alongside = [[David James Jenkins]]
| term_start = 1880
| term_end = 1885
| predecessor = {{unbulleted list| [[Henry Thomas Cole]] | David James Jenkins}}
| successor = David James Jenkins
| office2 = [[Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle|Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle]] 
| term_start2 = 1928
| term_end2 = 1930
| predecessor2 = [[Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge|The 1st Marquess of Cambridge]]
| successor2 = [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|The 1st Earl of Athlone]]
| birth_name = Reginald Baliol Brett
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1852|6|30}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1930|1|22|1852|6|30}}
| death_place = 
| party = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]
| spouse = Eleanor Van de Weyer
| parents = {{unbulleted list| [[William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher]] | Eugénie Mayer }}
| children = {{unbulleted list| 4, including: | [[Dorothy Brett]] | [[Sylvia Brett]]}}
| education = {{unbulleted list| [[Eton College]] | [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]}}
| occupation = Politician, courtier, historian
}}
'''Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|sep=,|size=100%|GCVO|KCB|PC|DL}} (30 June 1852 – 22 January 1930) was a British [[historian]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] [[politician]], although his greatest influence over military and foreign affairs was as a courtier, member of public committees and behind-the-scenes "fixer", or rather [[éminence grise]]. Behind the scenes, he influenced many pre-[[First World War]] military reforms and was a supporter of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]–[[French Third Republic|French]] ''[[Entente Cordiale]]''.

== Early life and education ==
Reginald Baliol Brett, known to his family as Regy,{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=4}} was born on 30 June 1852 in [[London]]. His father, [[William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher]], was a distinguished barrister who later gained prominence as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for his dutiful support of [[Benjamin Disraeli]] during the [[Reform Act 1867|1867 Reform Act]] debate. He was [[Solicitor General for England and Wales|Solicitor General]] in [[Third Derby–Disraeli ministry|Disraeli's first ministry]] in 1868, and later a judge on the [[Court of Common Pleas (England)|Court of Common Pleas]], [[Court of Appeal judge (England and Wales)|Lord Justice of Appeal]] and [[Master of the Rolls]]. In 1885, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Esher by Prime Minister [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]]. On his retirement as Master of the Rolls in 1897, he was created first Viscount Esher.{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=2}} Reginald's mother, Eugénie Mayer (1814–1904), was the French stepdaughter of Colonel [[John Gurwood]], the editor of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]]'s dispatches who killed himself in 1845.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/32055|title=Brett, Reginald Baliol, second Viscount Esher}}</ref>{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=3}}

The young Brett's childhood was spent between London and Heath Farm, the family's modest country house near [[Watford]], with occasional visits to his mother's family in Paris and to [[Lowther Castle]] in [[Westmorland]], the home of his father's friend, [[William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale]].{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=4}} 

He first attended [[Cheam School]], where he was tutored by [[Arthur Campbell Ainger]] to prepare him for [[Eton College]].{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=6}} He entered Eton in January 1865, where he was taught by influential master [[William Johnson Cory|William Johnson]].{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=8}} The exact nature of Brett's relationship with Johnson, a proponent of the ancient Greek practice of [[ephebophilia]] who was forced to resign from Eton in 1872 over an indiscreet letter to a young pupil, has long been a source of speculation.<ref>Ward, Yvonne M.. ''Censoring Queen Victoria: How Two Gentlemen Edited a Queen and Created an Icon''. London: Oneworld Books, 2014, pp.21-3.</ref> At the very least, Johnson was an eager observer and catalyst of homosexual relationships among his pupils, including Brett, who began romances with Charles D. R. Williamson and [[Francis Elliot]]. Johnson recounted these observations in his letters to Brett and others.{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=14}}

He began studies at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] in 1870.{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=19}} At Cambridge, Brett was profoundly influenced by the [[Classical radicalism|radical]] lawyer, politician and professor of international law [[William Harcourt (politician)|William Harcourt]] and Harcourt's advisor [[Gwladys Robinson, Marchioness of Ripon|Lady Ripon]], a wealthy [[Christian socialism|Christian Socialist]] and radical. Through the Ripons and Harcourt, Brett came to reject his father's Toryism and adopt the Whig principles that would lead him to join the [[Liberal Party (United Kingdom)|Liberal Party]].{{Sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=24}}

When [[Benjamin Disraeli]] unsuccessfully tried to enforce [[Anglicanism]] in the [[Public Worship Regulation Act 1874|Public Worship Bill]], Brett wrote copious letters to the [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|Marquess of Hartington]], leader of the Liberal Party in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], and Harcourt was pushed into the limelight as a leading Liberal in the Commons.<ref>Searle, Critics, pp.82-3; Perfectly secret, EHR, CXXVII, no.528, p.1178</ref>

== Early political career ==
[[File:Brett-esher-1880.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Brett as MP in 1880]]

Having been a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] as a young man, Brett began his political career in 1880 as Liberal [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Penryn and Falmouth]] and associate of Lord Hartington. However, the resolution of the [[Great Eastern Crisis]] and success of the 1878{{Endash}}80 [[Midlothian Campaign]] had re-energized [[William Ewart Gladstone]]'s authority as rightful leader of the Liberals, marginalising Hartington and Brett as [[jingoism|jingoes]]. Brett remained loyal to Hartington, serving as his [[parliamentary private secretary]] during Hartington's term as [[Secretary of State for War]] (1882–85) and once drove him to a Cabinet meeting on a sleigh through the snow.<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31">Reid 2006, pp127-31</ref> When Hartington broke with the Liberals to form the [[Liberal Unionist Party]], Brett became the mediator between the factions and was a leading figure at the Liberal Round Table Conference of 1887. After losing an election at [[Plymouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth]] in 1885, Brett elected to withdraw from public politics in favour of a behind-the-scenes role.

He was instrumental in the [[Jameson raid]] of 1895, vigorously defending [[Cecil Rhodes]]. During the [[Second Boer War|Boer War]], Esher intervened in the row between [[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]] and General [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Garnet Wolseley]], the Commander-in-Chief, who tended to blame Lansdowne for military failures. Esher's memoranda on the conflict became established civil service procedure.

== Courtier and military reforms ==
In 1895, Brett became [[Permanent Secretary]] to the [[Office of Works]], where [[Edward VII|Edward, Prince of Wales]], was impressed by his zeal and dedication to the elderly [[Queen Victoria]].<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" /> In [[Kensington Palace]], Esher would push the Queen in a wheel chair so she could revisit her childhood. Upon his father's death on 24 May 1899, he succeeded him as 2nd Viscount Esher. In 1901, Lord Esher was appointed a [[deputy lieutenant]] of [[Berkshire]] and became [[Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle|Deputy Governor and Constable]] of [[Windsor Castle]]; he lived at Orchard Lea, [[Winkfield]], on the edge of the [[Windsor Great Park|Great Park]].<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 27281
| date = 5 February 1901
| page = 766
}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 27336
| date = 23 July 1901
| page = 4838
}}</ref> After Edward's [[Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra|coronation]] in 1902, he gained greater royal influence and shunned political office; by the end of 1903, he met or corresponded with Edward VII daily and meeting with the King's adviser [[Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys|Lord Knollys]] three to four times daily.<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" /> During this period, he helped edit Queen Victoria's papers, publishing ''Correspondence of Queen Victoria'' in 1907.<ref>Kuhn, Democratic royalism, pp.57-81</ref>

=== Esher Report and military influence ===
[[File:Reginald Brett - 2nd Viscount Esher - Coming men on coming questions (1905) (14759243546).jpg|thumb|Brett at his writing table in 1905]]From 1903, Esher was a member of [[Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin's]] South African War Commission,<ref name="Janus">{{Cite web |title=The Papers of Viscount Esher (Reginald Brett) |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1555 |work=ArchiveSearch |publisher=Cambridge University}}</ref> which investigated the [[British Army]]'s near-failure in the Boer War. In that role, he informed the King of the views of the Commission, party leaders, and [[War Office]] civil servants with whom he was still in touch from his days working for Hartington, who had in 1891 become 8th Duke of Devonshire. [[Secretary of State for War]] [[St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton|St John Brodrick]] was resentful of Esher's influence, which paralysed Brodrick's scope for operation,<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" /> and the government was much weakened in October 1903, when [[Joseph Chamberlain]] and Devonshire resigned over the former's plans for [[Tariff Reform League|Tariff Reform]].

In 1903, Esher was appointed to chair the Report of the War Office (Reconstitution) Committee, a sub-committee of the Elgin Commission which became known as the Esher Committee.<ref name="Janus" /> The sub-committee consisted of Esher, Admiral Sir [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|John Fisher]], and Colonel Sir [[George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe|George Clarke]]. To advance the King's desired reforms of the Army, Esher formed an uneasy alliance with Clarke to directly undermine Secretary of State for War [[H. O. Arnold-Forster]], an opponent of reform.<ref>Clarke to Esher, 26 November 1904, Esher's Journals and Letters</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} On 7 December, Arnold-Foster advised the [[Militia (United Kingdom)|militia]] must be absorbed into the Army to save £2,000,000. Encouraged by the King, Esher wanted prime minister [[Arthur Balfour]] to look to party first, while at the same time warning the King's Secretary that, "the Prime Minister will have to take matters into his own hands".<ref>Esher to Lord Knollys, 27 November 1904, Journals and Letters</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} Esher's role, playing both Crown and Parliament against each other by confidential memoranda{{clarify|date=February 2018}} was kept secret for sixty-seven years. It was decided on 19 December a Reserve Force should be set up "in commission". On 12 January, Esher told the minister to accept his sub-committee's recommendation, even though Arnold-Foster had not even been told of the agenda.<ref>Arnold-Foster, Diary, 25 January 1905</ref> Despite the intrigues, the King approved of the committee's work.<ref>Edward VII to Balfour, RA R 25/68, 69</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2025}} The sub-committee produced the [[Esher Report]] in February and March 1904, recommending radical reform of the British Army, including the establishment of the [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]] and the [[Committee of Imperial Defence]], a permanent secretariat. The King successfully urged adoption of its recommended reforms by Prime Minister [[Arthur Balfour]].

Esher cultivated a friendship with Colonel Sir Edmund Ward, secretary to the [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]], in order to control minute-taking, the Council agenda, and quorum at meetings. In 1904, Esher told Ward he had "proof of the Army Order" and a plan toward Army decentralisation, called "Traverse". Believing the [[Royal Prerogative|royal prerogative]] had been circumvented "without reference to the Sovereign",<ref>Esher to Knollys, 18 October 1904, Journals and Letters</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} Esher marched into Arnold-Foster's office to remind him that precedent under Victoria had been to yield to arguments from the monarch,<ref>Clarke to Esher, 16 November 1904, Journals and Letters,</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} which had already been put forward by the Adjutant-General.<ref>Adj-Gen. Sir Charles Douglas, W.O, 7 November 1904</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}

After 1904, all War Office appointments were approved and often suggested by Esher. He approved the establishment of the [[Territorial Force]], although he saw it as a step toward conscription, a step not taken. Many of Esher's recommendations were implemented between 1905 and 1918 under Secretary of State for War [[Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane|Richard Haldane]], assisted by Esher's protégé, the young Major-General [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Douglas Haig]].<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" /> Haldane's initial Liberal reforms were thrown out by the [[House of Lords]], and the resulting documents more closely resembled Esher's original efforts.<ref>Fraser, p.23-4</ref> Esher's biographer Peter Fraser thus argued "the [[Haldane Reforms|Haldane reforms]] owed little to Haldane."<ref>Fraser, p.23.</ref> Although Edward VII urged Esher's appointment as Secretary of State for War, he declined it, along with many other public offices, including the [[Viceroy of India|Viceroyalty of India]].<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" />

In 1909, Esher was appointed a [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of the [[County of London]] and the King's Aide-de-Camp.<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 28255
| date = 28 May 1909
| page = 4062
}}</ref> He gained a reputation as a disciple of national efficiency, an able administrator, and a silky, smooth influence as a courtier. He was accused of being an arch-insider, undemocratic and interfering.<ref>The World (1910)</ref>{{sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|pp=220{{endash}}21}} However, the King favoured Esher, and his influence over the Army grew, with a focus on to averting conflict in Europe. Despite his close political connections, including [[Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth|Lord Tweedmouth]] and [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|Lord Rosebery]], his undemocratic reputation and ties to the monarch prevented further political ambition or any high cabinet office. He founded the Society of Islanders, established on the principle of "two for one Keels", an expression of British naval supremacy in order to maintain global peace.

Esher's involvements in the Territorials were not limited to the War Office. He was the first chairman appointed in 1908 to the County of London Territorial Forces Association and its president from 1912 to his death, in addition he was appointed [[Colonel (United Kingdom)#Honorary Colonel|Honorary Colonel]] of the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the [[Royal Fusiliers]] in 1908 and held the same appointment with the [[6th County of London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery]], from 1910 to 1921.<ref>''Army List''.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1930 |publisher=Kelly's |page=620}}</ref>

In 1911, Esher helped ease out Lord Knollys, who was then seventy-five years old and a member of the Royal Household since 1862, but who had lost royal confidence over his negotiation of the [[Parliament Act 1911]]. Esher arranged [[Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham|Lord Stamfordham]] as his replacement.<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" />

Together with [[Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt|Lewis Harcourt]], he established the [[London Museum (1912–1976)|London Museum]], which opened its doors on 5 March 1912.<ref>Bailkin, Jordanna "Radical Conservations: The Problem with the London Museum" Radical History Review - Issue 84, Fall 2002, pp. 43–7</ref>

=== Great War ===
After the outbreak of the [[First World War]], Esher served as an emissary to France and often travelled to France as a respite from the "mephitic" atmosphere of the War Office.<ref>Esher to Haig, 6 August 1916</ref> In one writer's description, Esher served as ''de facto'' head of British Intelligence in France, reporting on the French domestic and political situation, although he told his son he preferred not to have a formal position where he would have to take orders.<ref name="Reid 2006, pp127-31" />  His son Maurice set up a bureau in Paris called ''Intelligence Anglaise,'' keeping his father informed through a small spy network with links to newspaper journalists.

He visited [[Prime Minister of France]] [[Aristide Briand]] in Paris in January 1915, and Briand told him that the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[David Lloyd George]], had "a longer view than any of our leaders" and that an earlier opening of the [[Salonica front]] might have prevented the entry of [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] into the war.<ref>Journal and Letters, 6 May 1916</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} Following the Russian defeats on the Eastern Front, [[H. H. Asquith]]'s neutrality over Briand's Salonica Plan perplexed Esher, and he perceived the balance of power in cabinet shifting toward a more conservative coalition.<ref>Esher to Robertson, 11 August 1916, Journals and Letters, vol.4, 1916-30</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2025}} He also made contact in Paris with [[Maurice Bunau-Varilla]], owner and editor of ''[[Le Matin (France)|Le Matin]]'', with the intent of influencing the [[Russian Empire]] to remain in [[Allies of World War I|the Allied Forces]] and the United States to join.<ref>Journals, 17 May 1916</ref>  

By 1916, however, the French war effort was almost spent, and Esher reported that Finance Minister [[Alexandre Ribot]] sought to sue for peace.<ref>Journals, Esher to Robertson, Paris, 20 May 1916</ref> At the [[Chantilly Conference]], they{{Who|date=January 2025}} discussed combined operations to maintain the momentum.<ref>President [[Raymond Poincaré]] on the state of battle at Verdun, Esher's Journals, 23–24 May 1916</ref>  Esher accompanied Haig to the Amiens Conference, but on his return to Paris, was informed of the sinking of the [[HMS Hampshire (1903)|HMS ''Hampshire'']] and death of [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Earl Kitchener]]. Returning to London, Esher spoke with Prime Minister of Australia [[Billy Hughes]]. The following month at the Beaugency Conference, they{{Who|date=January 2025}} discussed the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme Offensive]]. Esher told [[Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey|Maurice Hankey]], "For heaven's sake put every ounce you have got of will power into this offensive."<ref>Journals, Esher to Sir Maurice Hankey, Paris, 3 August 1916</ref> He also learnt firsthand the French government's scheme for a "Greater Syria" to include British controlled Palestine.

In 1917, he told Lloyd George, now Prime Minister, that diplomacy in Paris was weak and that Lloyd George "was badly served". Ambassador [[Francis Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame|Lord Bertie]] was the last of the Victorian imperial envoys and Esher argued he had failed to do enough to persuade France to remain in the war. When offered the ambassadorship himself, Esher crowed, "I cannot imagine anything I would detest more."<ref>Journals and Letters, 19 May 1917.</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=January 2025}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}} Following a [[1917 French Army mutinies|French mutiny]] the next month, Haig and [[Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet|Henry Wilson]] lent support to an offensive to bolster the French. [[Phillipe Pétain]], the new French commander-in-chief, was deemed too defensive, and Esher sent [[Charles à Court Repington]] on a "charm offensive". With support from [[Minister of Munitions]] [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|Lord Milner]] for dramatic action, Esher entered diplomatic conversation with the [[War Policy Committee]], a unique departure in the management of British policy. However, bad weather and sickness of war made Esher ill in 1917, and he was encouraged by [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] to holiday at [[Biarritz]].

Partly on Esher's advice, the War Office undertook major re-organization in 1917, unifying all British military commands at the Imperial War Office.<ref>FM Sir William Robertson, 'Soldiers and Statesmen 1914-1918' (1926)</ref> Esher was at the famous Crillon Club dinner meeting in Paris on 1 December 1917, at which with [[Georges Clemenceau]], they{{Who|date=January 2025}} took critical decisions over the strategy for 1918. The Allied Governments proposed a unified Allied Reserve, despite negative press and publicity in the Commons. As cabinet enforcer, Esher visited Henry Wilson on 9 February 1918, during the crisis over his succession to [[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet|William Robertson]] as [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]]. Esher became instrumental in remonstrating against the war effort with loose press articles in [[Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe|Lord Northcliffe]]'s newspapers and ''[[The Morning Post]]''. In France, Esher established a ''rapprochement'' with the press to help hold the Clemenceau government together, at a time when England was at the zenith of her military strength.<ref>Memorandum to Stamfordham, 18 October 1917, Royal Archives, Windsor, GVK1340/1; Fraser, p.372</ref>

As the war concluded, Esher learned that the King wanted his resignation as Deputy-Governor of Windsor. In fact, he coveted the post of [[Keeper of the Royal Archives]]. Lord Stamfordham demanded his resignation in favour of historian Sir [[John Fortescue (historian)|John Fortescue]], but Esher remained as Governor. Professionalization also warned Maurice Hankey against becoming secretary to the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]], which to Esher's mind was beyond his competence. Esher also persuaded his friend{{Who|date=January 2025}} not to desert the [[British Empire]] for the [[League of Nations]].{{Clarification|date=January 2025}} Domestic unrest and [[Trade unions in the United Kingdom|trade unionism]], which Esher loathed, as it threatened peace and stability, also destabilized his position as President of the Army of India Committee.  Ever skeptical of political changes, "omnivorous" introductions to the Viceroy's work forced him to decline a solicitous offer to chair a sub-committee of the Conditions of the Poor.

=== Post-war work ===
Esher was admitted to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]] in 1922. In 1928 he became [[Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle]], an office he had always wanted, holding it until his death in 1930.

Lord Esher was also a historian; besides the aforementioned work, he also published works on [[British monarchy|King]] [[Edward VII]] and [[Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum|Lord Kitchener]]. In February 1920, he proofread Haig's ''History of the General Head Quarters 1917–1918''. That summer, Esher's critique of a ''Life of Disraeli'' appeared in ''Quarterly Review''.  His memoir, ''Cloud-capp'd Towers'', was published in 1927. After his death, his sons published four volumes of his ''Journals and Letters'' (1934–1938).

== Honours and arms ==

=== British honours ===
* '''KCB''' :  Knight Commander the [[Order of the Bath]] – announced in the [[1902 Coronation Honours|1902 Coronation Honours list]] on 26 June 1902<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804| }}</ref> – invested by King Edward while on board his yacht [[HMY Victoria and Albert (1899)|HMY ''Victoria and Albert'']] on 28 July 1902<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular|date=29 July 1902 |page=10 |issue=36832| }}</ref> (gazetted 11 July 1902)<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27453 |date=11 July 1902 |page=4441}}</ref>
* '''GCVO''': Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (previously KCVO)

=== Arms ===
{{Infobox COA wide
|image={{center|[[File:Coronet of a British Viscount.svg|130px|centre]][[File:Arms of the Viscount Esher.svg|centre|150px]]}}
|escutcheon = Quarterly 1st & 4th Gules within an orle of crosses botonny fitchée Or a lion rampant of the last holding in the dexter forepaw a fasces erect Proper 2nd per pale Or and Gules three leopard's faces counterchanged 3rd Azure three bears' heads couped Argent muzzled Gules.
|crest = A lion passant Gules charged on the shoulder with a cross botonny fitchéee Or and holding in the dexter forepaw a fasces Proper.
|supporters = Dexter a boar sinister a lion both Sable and each charged on the shoulder with a cross botonny fitchée Or and holding between the paws a fasces erect Proper.
|motto = Vicimus <ref>{{cite book|title=Burke's Peerage |date=1914}}</ref>}}

== Personal life ==

=== Family ===
In 1879, Reginald Brett married Eleanor Van de Weyer, daughter of Belgian ambassador [[Sylvain Van de Weyer]] and granddaughter of Anglo-American financier [[Joshua Bates (financier)|Joshua Bates]]. They had four children.
* Their elder son, [[Oliver Sylvain Baliol Brett, 3rd Viscount Esher|Oliver Sylvain Baliol Brett]] became 3rd Viscount Esher and was a Fellow of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]]. He married Antoinette Heckscher, daughter of [[August Heckscher]].
* Their second son, Maurice Vyner Baliol Brett, married the famous [[musical theatre]] actress [[Zena Dare]].
* Their older daughter, [[Dorothy Brett|Dorothy]], was a painter and member of the [[Bloomsbury Group]]. She studied at the [[Slade School of Fine Arts]] and spent years in [[New Mexico]].
* Their younger daughter, [[Sylvia Brett|Sylvia]], became the last Ranee of [[Raj of Sarawak|Sarawak]] on 24 May 1917, following the proclamation of her husband [[Charles Vyner Brooke]] as [[Raja]]h.
Esher found his son, Oliver, a job as an additional secretary to [[John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley|John Morley]] and he was on good terms with Captain Sinclair, Campbell-Bannerman's secretary.

=== Sexuality ===
Although married with children, Lord Esher had [[Homosexuality|homosexual]] inclinations. His flirtations with young men were regarded with tolerant amusement in polite society, and the years before his marriage were marked by a series of what Esher described as "rapturous" love affairs with various young men, beginning with his time at Eton.{{sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|p=14}} His marriage in no way stopped or curtailed these activities, and he told a friend he could not remember a single day when he was not in love with one young man or another. He later anonymously published a book of verse called ''Foam'',<ref>Timothy d'Arch Smith, ''Love in Earnest: Some Notes on the Lives and Writings of English "Uranian" Poets from 1889 to 1930'' (1970), p. 9</ref> in which he glorified "golden lads".  According to his biographer [[James Lees-Milne]], Esher "never deliberately concealed his infatuations" but explicitly confided them to only a few, including Esher's son Maurice, to whom{{Who|date=January 2025}} Maurice wrote prurient and even romantic letters during the boy's time at Eton.{{sfn|Lees-Milne|1986|pp=112{{endash}}113}}<!-- Confusing sentence, needs clarification based on source. -->

One of Esher's most significant male companions was his private secretary Lawrence Burgis, who met Esher when he was attending [[King's School, Worcester]]. Although Burgis was [[heterosexuality|heterosexual]] and the relationship likely was not physically consummated, they remained closely acquainted until Esher's death in 1930. After [[British entry into World War I]], Esher personally intervened to have Burgis appointed as an aide-de-camp to the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] Commander of Intelligence [[John Charteris]] so that he could avoid front-line service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. Esher also had Burgis appointed as a secretary to the [[Cabinet Office]], and Burgis later used this position to keep verbatim records of Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]]'s [[War cabinet|War Cabinet]] meetings in defiance of the [[Official Secrets Act 1911]], providing one of the most important records of [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/masterscommander0000robe_g9v1 |title=Masters and Commanders: The Military Geniuses Who Led the West to Victory in World War II |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-141-02926-9 |edition=1 |location=London |pages=xxxiii-xxxv |language=en |ref=None |via=Archive Foundation}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|first=Michael|last= Bloch| date=2015|title=Closet Queens|place=London|publisher= Little, Brown|isbn= 978-1-40870-412-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Brett|first=Oliver|title=Journals and Letters of Reginald Viscount Esher|volume=4 vols|publisher=Ivor Nicholson & Watson|date=1934–1938}}
* {{cite book|last=Fraser|first=Peter|title=Life and Times of Reginald Brett, Viscount Esher|publisher=Routledge|date=1971}}
* {{cite book|first=James|last= Lees-Milne|author-link=James Lees-Milne| date=1986|title=The Enigmatic Edwardian: The Life of Reginald, 2nd Viscount Esher|url=https://archive.org/details/enigmaticedwardi0000lees|url-access=registration|place=London|publisher= Sidgwick & Jackson.|isbn= 9780283993992}}
* {{cite book|last=Magnus|first=Philip|title=King Edward VII|publisher=John Murray|date=1964}}
* {{cite book|last=Reid|first= Walter|title=Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig|publisher=Birlinn Ltd|place= Edinburgh|date= 2006|isbn= 1-84158-517-3}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-reginald-brett | the Viscount Esher }}
* [https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1555 The Papers of Lord and Lady Esher] held at [[Churchill Archives Centre]]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=9036}}
* {{Internet Archive author |name=Viscount Esher}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Penryn and Falmouth]]
 | with   = [[David James Jenkins]]
 | years  = [[1880 United Kingdom general election|1880]]–[[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885]]
 | before = [[Henry Thomas Cole]]<br />[[David James Jenkins]]
 | after  = [[David James Jenkins]]
}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge|The Marquess of Cambridge]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle|Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle]] |years=1928–1930}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|The Earl of Athlone]]}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{succession box| title=[[Viscount Esher]] | before=[[William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher|William Brett]] | after=[[Oliver Sylvain Baliol Brett, 3rd Viscount Esher|Oliver Brett]] | years=1899–1930 }}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esher, Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount}}
[[Category:1852 births]]
[[Category:1930 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century English LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Bisexual male politicians]]
[[Category:Brett family|Reginald]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Berkshire]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of the County of London]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:LGBTQ peers]]
[[Category:British bisexual men]]
[[Category:English bisexual politicians]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies|Brett, Reginald]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Penryn and Falmouth|Brett, Reginald]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:People from Winkfield|Brett, Reginald]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1880–1885|Brett, Reginald]]
[[Category:UK MPs who inherited peerages]]
[[Category:Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People educated at Cheam School]]