Lord Snooty starred a wealthy Eton schoolboy[6] named Marmaduke, the bored Earl of Bunkerton who often sneaked out of his home to bond with the working-class children on the other side of town.

His friends knew he was a wealthy child and affectionately nicknamed him "Snooty",[1] but he donned a disguise to hide from his family and the Bunkerton Castle staff.

[7] Lord Snooty and His Pals first appeared in issue 1 of The Beano,[1] debuting with the comic strips Wee Peem, Morgyn the Mighty, Wild Boy of the Woods, Here Comes Ping the Elastic Man and cover star Big Eggo.

[8] It was one of the notable few in the first issue inspired by the "funny pages" from American newspapers, whereas the rest of the magazine contained adventure stories written in prose.

[9] Dudley D. Watkins illustrated, an in-house DC Thomson artist known for creating stories for Oor Wullie and The Dandy's Desperate Dan.

[17] Due to a loss of popularity, Lord Snooty's stories petered away in 1991, but he would still cameo in other comic strips or feature in short revivals.

[citation needed] In the 2010s, Lord Snooty received more appearances and new stories, often authored and illustrated by Lew Stringer:[20] a feature in the Funsize Funnies, and a revival series in 2014.

[56] In popular British culture, "Lord Snooty" is pejorative to describe a high-profile person (usually a politician) from an upper middle class family who is too privileged to relate to the rest of the United Kingdom, despite how hard they try to.

In 1995, Craig Brown criticised Roy Hattersley for claiming Eton College was the wrong school to send teenaged Prince William because Lord Snooty attended it, writing in the Evening Standard: "I doubt the creators at the Dundee firm of DC Thomson ever intended [Snooty and the children of Ash-Can Alley] to be thought of as Etonians.

"[57] When Charles Moore was announced as The Daily Telegraph's new editor, some critiques believed his "sobriquet of Lord Snooty" would bring a conservative agenda to the newspaper, according to Stephen Clover, who ended his overview with: "Lord Snooty does know what they are thinking in the suburbs and market towns rather better than most of [Charles Moore's] metropolitan critics.

"[61] A by-election leaflet depicting Edward Timpson photoshopped wearing a top hat in 2008 did not have explicit ties to the comic strip character, but alleged Labour Party campaigns to make voters draw comparisons were nicknamed such.

Although it was originally entered as part of the New Bash Street Kid competition, the following issue reveals this new character is Marmaduke's grandson, showing a distinctive and recognisable "Grandad" in the family portrait gallery.