Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister.

The laureateship dates to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official Laureate was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II.

[3] The origins of the British poet laureateship date back to 1616 when James I of England granted a pension to the writer Ben Jonson.

[5][6] Dryden, who had been appointed following the success of his 1667 poem Annus Mirabilis, was dismissed from office in 1689 following the accession of the Protestant William III and Mary II to the throne.

According to Andrew Motion and Hilary Laurie, Tennyson "gave the poet laureateship new status and significance" with works such as "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade".

[1] For the appointment of Duffy the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) undertook a consultation of academics and literary organisations to draw up a short list of recommendations which they presented to the prime minister.