BENIGHTED KINGDOM

Britain

1. Which British monarch has reigned the longest?

2. How many people in the past 100 years have become prime minister without first having stood as party leader in a general election?

3. Since 1066, there have been two English Kings with a regnal title (eg Henry or George) that was not adopted by any of their successors. Name them.

4. What proportion of the population of England and Wales is Muslim? (You can have 2% either side.)

5. In which decade did Britain get its first female MP?

6. How many times has London hosted the Olympic Games?

7. Only one politician has held all four great offices of state: home secretary, foreign secretary, chancellor of the exchequer and prime minister. Who?

8. What is the highest rate of income tax ever imposed in Britain and when?

9. In 2006 Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who fled to Britain, was poisoned with polonium while eating at a London restaurant. What kind of cuisine did it serve?

10. A “great paper-weight that for half a century sat upon men’s minds, and when she was removed their ideas began to blow about all over the place haphazardly”. Who was H. G. Wells describing?

11. Whose friendly relations with the Nazis were revealed in the Marburg files?

12. In 1976 Britain earned which dubious economic honour?

13. Three territories, while close to Britain, are governed as “crown dependencies” and are not part of the UK. Name any one of them.

14. “I count my blessings for the fact I don’t have to go into that pit,” remarked whom of what in 1991?

15. Three British prime ministers were born outside the country. Can you name two of them?

16. What do both the largest and smallest constituencies (by population) have in common?

17. Which saintly figure did Margaret Thatcher misquote outside 10 Downing Street after becoming prime minister in 1979?

18. Among Britain’s prime ministers since the beginning of the 20th century, a) what is the most common university attended; and b) how many did not attend university?

19. To what did Harold MacMillan respond with the words, “Perhaps we could have a translation, I could not quite follow” in 1960?

20. Harold MacMillan’s “wind of change” speech signalled the beginning of the end of the British Empire in which part of the world?

21. In what year was the voting age lowered to 18?

22. There are 282 “Munros” in Scotland. What is a Munro?

23. Who traditionally lived at 12 Downing Street?

24. Of the four great offices of state, which has never been held by a woman?

25. What is the second most spoken language in Britain, according to the 2011 census?

26. To which British prime minister was President John F. Kennedy related by marriage?

27. Stephen Ward, a key figure in the Profumo affair—which ended in the resignation of John Profumo, a secretary of state for war under Harold MacMillan—was a member of which profession?

28. According to the book All the Countries We’ve Ever Invaded, how many of the 193 countries in the world have not experienced a British military presence? (You can have five either side.)

29. Only one British prime minister has been assassinated. Who?

30. Britain is often depicted as a crowded country. But what proportion of the land area has been built upon? (You can have 5% either side.)

31. The following were nicknames for which prime ministers? a) The Unknown Prime Minister b) Man of Peace c) The Coroner d) Dizzy e) Grey Man

32. In a career spanning half a century, what was Winston Churchill’s first ministerial position and in what year was he appointed to it?

33. The word Tory, now a nickname for a member or supporter of the Conservative Party, originally meant what?

34. Which country house is traditionally given to the prime minister for weekend retreats?

35. As well as being the first female mayor and magistrate in Britain, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman to qualify in which profession?

36. What were the fishing disputes between Britain and Iceland between the 1950s and 1970s known as?

37. Apart from their similar spelling and derivation, what links the names Oliver and Olivia in British culture?

38. Sake Dean Mahomet, a Muslim Indian soldier born in 1759, is credited with opening Britain’s first what?

39. The first UK-wide referendum was held in what year and on what subject?

40. In 1915 Cecil Chubb was the last private owner of which national landmark, which he bought as a present for his wife?

41. Would you eat the following British foods as starter, main course or dessert? a) Mince pie b) Cullen skink c) Toad-in-the-hole

42. After Tony Blair’s visit to Camp David in 2001, George W. Bush joked that they had taken the “special relationship” to a new level because he and the prime minister used the same brand of what?

43. Who married Margaret Kempson in 1942 and Margaret Roberts in 1951?

44. Which city gets the most average annual rainfall: New Orleans, Orlando or London?

45. The package of reforms enacted on October 27, 1986, was known as what and revolutionised what?

46. Who was the last Briton to win a Wimbledon singles title before Andy Murray managed the trick in 2013?

47. Which philosopher most strongly influenced Enoch Powell, a Conservative politician known mostly for his anti-immigration stance and “rivers of blood” speech?

48. Since 1945 the three largest parliamentary majorities were won by which party leaders, in which years?

49. England’s national animal is the lion. But what is Scotland’s?

50. For what did Britain declare its support in the Balfour Declaration of 1917?