Humphrey Appleby - Revision history

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	~~{{short description\|Fictional character from the British sitcom Yes Minister}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2020}}~~
	{{Infobox character		{{Infobox character
	\| name = {{small\|[[Sir]]}}<br>Humphrey Appleby <br/>{{small\|[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath\|GCB]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire\|KBE]] [[Member of the Royal Victorian Order\|MVO]] [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)\|MA (Oxon)]]}}		\| name = {{small\|[[Sir]]}}<br>Humphrey Appleby <br/>{{small\|[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath\|GCB]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire\|KBE]] [[Member of the Royal Victorian Order\|MVO]] [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)\|MA (Oxon)]]}}

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Fictional biography

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	'''Sir Humphrey Appleby''' {{postnominals\|country=UK\|GCB\|KBE\|MVO\|MA (Oxon)\|}} is a fictional character from the British television series ''[[Yes Minister]]'' and ''Yes Prime Minister''. He was played originally by [[Nigel Hawthorne\|Sir Nigel Hawthorne]], and both on stage and in a television adaptation of the stage show by [[Henry Goodman]] in a new series of ''[[Yes Minister#Theatre\|Yes, Prime Minister]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Yes, Prime Minister - Production Details\|website=[[British Comedy Guide]] \|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/yes_prime_minister_2013/details/\|access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> In ''Yes Minister'', he is the [[Permanent Secretary]] for the Department of Administrative Affairs (a fictional department of the [[British government]]). In the last episode of ''Yes Minister'', "[[Party Games (Yes Minister)\|Party Games]]", he becomes [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)\|Cabinet Secretary]], the most powerful position in the service and one he retains during ''Yes, Prime Minister''. Hawthorne's portrayal won the [[British Academy Television Awards]] Award for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|Best Light Entertainment Performance]] four times: 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1987.		'''Sir Humphrey Appleby''' {{postnominals\|country=UK\|GCB\|KBE\|MVO\|MA (Oxon)\|}} is a fictional character from the British television series ''[[Yes Minister]]'' and ''Yes Prime Minister''. He was played originally by [[Nigel Hawthorne\|Sir Nigel Hawthorne]], and both on stage and in a television adaptation of the stage show by [[Henry Goodman]] in a new series of ''[[Yes Minister#Theatre\|Yes, Prime Minister]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Yes, Prime Minister - Production Details\|website=[[British Comedy Guide]] \|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/yes_prime_minister_2013/details/\|access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> In ''Yes Minister'', he is the [[Permanent Secretary]] for the Department of Administrative Affairs (a fictional department of the [[British government]]). In the last episode of ''Yes Minister'', "[[Party Games (Yes Minister)\|Party Games]]", he becomes [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)\|Cabinet Secretary]], the most powerful position in the service and one he retains during ''Yes, Prime Minister''. Hawthorne's portrayal won the [[British Academy Television Awards]] Award for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|Best Light Entertainment Performance]] four times: 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1987.

	==~~Fictional biography~~==		==Biography==
	Sir Humphrey was educated at [[Winchester College]] and [[Baillie College]], [[University of Oxford\|Oxford]], where he read [[literae humaniores]] and received a [[British undergraduate degree classification\|first]] (Baillie College is clearly based on [[Balliol College, Oxford]]; Humphrey is frequently seen wearing a Balliol tie). After [[National Service]] in the [[Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], he entered the Civil Service. From 1950 to 1956 he was successively the Regional Contracts Officer, an assistant principal in the [[Scottish Office]], on secondment from the [[War Office]] (where, as revealed in "[[The Skeleton in the Cupboard (Yes Minister)\|The Skeleton in the Cupboard]]", he was responsible for the relinquishing of £40,000,000 worth of military installations due to a lack of understanding of Scottish law). In 1964, he was brought into the newly formed Department of Administrative Affairs, where he worked until his appointment as Cabinet Secretary. He is recommended for a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire\|KBE]] award early on in the series in "The Official Visit". The Dean of Baillie describes him as "too clever by half" and "smug" (''[[The Bishop's Gambit]]'').		Sir Humphrey was educated at [[Winchester College]] and [[Baillie College]], [[University of Oxford\|Oxford]], where he read [[literae humaniores]] and received a [[British undergraduate degree classification\|first]] (Baillie College is clearly based on [[Balliol College, Oxford]]; Humphrey is frequently seen wearing a Balliol tie). After [[National Service]] in the [[Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], he entered the Civil Service. From 1950 to 1956 he was successively the Regional Contracts Officer, an assistant principal in the [[Scottish Office]], on secondment from the [[War Office]] (where, as revealed in "[[The Skeleton in the Cupboard (Yes Minister)\|The Skeleton in the Cupboard]]", he was responsible for the relinquishing of £40,000,000 worth of military installations due to a lack of understanding of Scottish law). In 1964, he was brought into the newly formed Department of Administrative Affairs, where he worked until his appointment as Cabinet Secretary. He is recommended for a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire\|KBE]] award early on in the series in "The Official Visit". The Dean of Baillie describes him as "too clever by half" and "smug" (''[[The Bishop's Gambit]]'').

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{{short description|Fictional character from the British sitcom Yes Minister}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox character
| name = {{small|[[Sir]]}}<br>Humphrey Appleby <br/>{{small|[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath|GCB]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]] [[Member of the Royal Victorian Order|MVO]] [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|MA (Oxon)]]}}
| image = SirHumphrey.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = [[Nigel Hawthorne]] as '''Sir Humphrey Appleby'''
| first = "[[Open Government (Yes Minister)|Open Government]]"
| last = "[[The Tangled Web]]"
| portrayer = [[Nigel Hawthorne|Sir Nigel Hawthorne]] (Original) <br> [[Henry Goodman]] (2013 revival)
| aliases = Humpy
| occupation = [[Permanent Secretary]] / [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)|Cabinet Secretary]]
| spouse = Lady Appleby
| title = Sir
}}
'''Sir Humphrey Appleby''' {{postnominals|country=UK|GCB|KBE|MVO|MA (Oxon)|}} is a fictional character from the British television series ''[[Yes Minister]]'' and ''Yes Prime Minister''. He was played originally by [[Nigel Hawthorne|Sir Nigel Hawthorne]], and both on stage and in a television adaptation of the stage show by [[Henry Goodman]] in a new series of ''[[Yes Minister#Theatre|Yes, Prime Minister]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yes, Prime Minister - Production Details|website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/yes_prime_minister_2013/details/|access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> In ''Yes Minister'', he is the [[Permanent Secretary]] for the Department of Administrative Affairs (a fictional department of the [[British government]]). In the last episode of ''Yes Minister'', "[[Party Games (Yes Minister)|Party Games]]", he becomes [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)|Cabinet Secretary]], the most powerful position in the service and one he retains during ''Yes, Prime Minister''. Hawthorne's portrayal won the [[British Academy Television Awards]] Award for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance|Best Light Entertainment Performance]] four times: 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1987.

==Fictional biography==
Sir Humphrey was educated at [[Winchester College]] and [[Baillie College]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], where he read [[literae humaniores]] and received a [[British undergraduate degree classification|first]] (Baillie College is clearly based on [[Balliol College, Oxford]]; Humphrey is frequently seen wearing a Balliol tie). After [[National Service]] in the [[Royal Army Educational Corps|Army Education Corps]], he entered the Civil Service. From 1950 to 1956 he was successively the Regional Contracts Officer, an assistant principal in the [[Scottish Office]], on secondment from the [[War Office]] (where, as revealed in "[[The Skeleton in the Cupboard (Yes Minister)|The Skeleton in the Cupboard]]", he was responsible for the relinquishing of £40,000,000 worth of military installations due to a lack of understanding of Scottish law). In 1964, he was brought into the newly formed Department of Administrative Affairs, where he worked until his appointment as Cabinet Secretary. He is recommended for a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]] award early on in the series in "The Official Visit". The Dean of Baillie describes him as "too clever by half" and "smug" (''[[The Bishop's Gambit]]'').

On Humphrey's possible private situation, [[Jonathan Lynn]], one of the creators of ''Yes, Minister'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister'', commented: "We always supposed that Sir Humphrey lived in [[Haslemere]], had a son at [[Winchester College|Winchester]] and a daughter at [[Bedales School|Bedales]] and that his wife was a sensible woman who made cakes for church socials and enjoyed walking the family bulldog. I think that Humphrey's hobbies were reading (mainly biographies), listening to classical music, and occasionally visiting the RSC, the National Theatre or the Royal Opera House, where he was on the Board. His holidays were probably spent walking in the Lake District and, occasionally, sailing in Lymington. On the whole, he had a slightly warmer relationship with his dog than his family."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lynn|first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Lynn|title=Yes Minister Questions & Answers|url=http://www.jonathanlynn.com/tv/yes_minister_series/yes_minister_qa.htm|website=Jonathan Lynn official website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119211928/http://www.jonathanlynn.com/tv/yes_minister_series/yes_minister_qa.htm|archive-date=19 November 2014}}</ref>

The book adaptation of the first series was published in 1981, but with a fictional publication date of 2017. In the foreword, the 'editors' Lynn and Jay state that they had "a few conversations" with Sir Humphrey before the "advancing years, without in any way impairing his verbal fluency, disengaged the operation of his mind from the content of his speech," indicating that his speech had transitioned from merely sounding like overly verbose nonsense to actually being overly verbose nonsense.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lynn |first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Lynn |last2=Jay|first2=Antony |author-link2=Antony Jay |date=1981 |title=Yes Minister The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by the Rt Hon. James Hacker MP |publisher= British Broadcasting Corporation |page= 8|isbn= 0563179341}}</ref> The third volume (published 1983, but dated September 2019) notes that the editors learned from "the few lucid moments of Sir Humphrey Appleby's last ravings" at St Dympna's Hospital for the Elderly Deranged.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lynn |first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Lynn |last2=Jay|first2=Antony |author-link2=Antony Jay |date=1983 |title=Yes Minister The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by the Rt Hon. James Hacker MP Volume Three |publisher= British Broadcasting Corporation |page= 8|isbn= 0563201967}}</ref> The fifth and final volume (published 1987, dated May 2024) makes it explicit that Sir Humphrey is dead, and thanks his widow for her cooperation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lynn |first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Lynn |last2=Jay|first2=Antony |author-link2=Antony Jay |date=1987 |title=Yes Prime Minister The Diaries of the Rt Hon. James Hacker Volume II |publisher= British Broadcasting Corporation |page= 8|isbn= 0563205849}}</ref> ''Politico's Book of the Dead'' states that Sir Humphrey (like Nigel Hawthorne) died in 2001.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Dale|editor1-first=Iain|title=The Politico's Book of the Dead|date=2003|publisher=Politico's|location=London}}</ref>

===Honours===
Sir Humphrey has been appointed a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] (GCB), a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) and a [[Member of the Royal Victorian Order]] (MVO).

== Character ==
Sir Humphrey is a master of [[obfuscation]] and manipulation, often making long-winded statements to confuse and fatigue the listener. An example is the following monologue from the episode [[The Death List]]: "In view of the somewhat nebulous and inexplicit nature of your remit, and the arguably marginal and peripheral nature of your influence within the central deliberations and decisions within the political process, there could be a case for restructuring their action priorities in such a way as to eliminate your liquidation from their immediate agenda."<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking to be understood|url=http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=9534169|website=Local Government Improvement and Development|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430000640/http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=9534169|archive-date=30 April 2012}}</ref> Addressing his Minister, he means to suggest by this that a terrorist group which had previously conspired to assassinate the Minister is no longer planning to do so, as they believe he is simply not important enough politically. Sir Humphrey is committed to maintaining the ''[[status quo]]'' for the country in general and for the [[Civil Service (United Kingdom)|Civil Service]] in particular, and will stop at nothing to do so—whether that means baffling his opponents with technical jargon, employing a dizzying array of stalling and delaying tactics, withholding information or concealing vital documents in mammoth piles of papers and reports, strategically appointing allies to supposedly impartial boards, or setting up an interdepartmental committee to immobilise his [[Minister (government)|Minister]]'s proposals with [[red tape]], and occasionally outright lying. Throughout the series, he serves as Permanent Secretary at the Department of Administrative Affairs, with [[Jim Hacker]] as minister; he is appointed Cabinet Secretary shortly before Hacker's elevation to the role of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], which he was instrumental in bringing to pass.

Sir Humphrey frequently uses both his mastery of the English language and even his superb grasp of [[Latin]] and Greek grammar to perplex his political master and to obscure relevant issues under discussion. However, his habit of using language as a tool of confusion and obstruction is so deeply ingrained that he is sometimes unable to speak clearly and directly even when he honestly wishes to be clearly understood. He genuinely believes that the Civil Service knows what the average person needs and is the most qualified body to run the country, the joke being that not only is Sir Humphrey, as a high-ranking Oxford-educated Civil Servant, quite out of touch with the average person but also the Civil Service judges what is "best for Britain" to be that which in actuality is best for the Civil Service. Jim Hacker, on the other hand, tends to regard what is best for Britain as being whatever is best for his political party or his own chances of re-election. As a result, Sir Humphrey and Hacker often clash.

He still holds women to be the fairer sex and is thus overly courteous, frequently addressing them as "Dear lady". Like Hacker, Sir Humphrey enjoys the finer things in life, and is regularly seen drinking [[sherry]] and dining at fine establishments, often with his fellow civil servant [[Sir Arnold Robinson]], who was [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)|Cabinet Secretary]] throughout ''Yes, Minister''. Sir Humphrey is also on the board of governors of the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] and attends many of the gala nights of the [[Royal Opera House]]. His interests also extend to [[cricket]], art and theatre.

Humphrey is usually smooth, calm and collected within his element of bureaucracy and procedure, but has become so adept at working within and maintaining the system of government that, whenever anything unexpected is sprung on him, whether it be Hacker ordering him to negotiate with a rogue councillor, or honours in his department being made dependent on economies within the rationale of meritocracy, Humphrey immediately crumbles, on a few occasions being reduced to stuttering out garbled platitudes such as "the beginning of the end" or "it cuts at the very roots", although he usually regains his composure pretty quickly to push things back on track.

In a ''[[Radio Times]]'' interview to promote the first series of ''Yes, Prime Minister'', Nigel Hawthorne observed, "He's raving mad of course. Obsessive about his job. He'd do anything to keep control. In fact, he does go mad in one episode. Quite mad."<ref>''Radio Times'': 4–10 January 1986</ref>

== Relationships ==
In ''Yes Minister'', Sir Humphrey maintains a civil and outwardly deferential but fundamentally adversarial relationship with his new minister, [[Jim Hacker]]. When keeping the Minister busy is not sufficient to prevent him from proposing new policy, Sir Humphrey is not above deceiving or even blackmailing him. He frequently manipulates Hacker by describing new proposals that he is opposed to as "very brave" or "extremely courageous", playing upon Hacker's fear as a politician of anything which may fly in the face of prevailing public opinion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/5017943/Sir-Humphrey-Appleby-and-the-tale-of-the-prescription-charge.html|title=Sir Humphrey Appleby and the tale of the prescription charge|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=19 March 2009|access-date=6 November 2015|quote="That's very brave of you, minister. An extremely courageous decision," he'd say. At this Jim Hacker's political antennae would get the message that what he had in mind was political suicide and the 'brave' plan - whatever it was - would be quickly dropped.}}</ref>

He has a slightly more amicable relationship with his subordinate, the Minister's [[Principal Private Secretary]], [[Bernard Woolley]]. He frequently lectures the naïve Woolley in the realities of political matters. When Woolley's loyalty to the Minister is inconvenient to Sir Humphrey's plans, he readily makes oblique threats about Woolley's job prospects should he defy Sir Humphrey. However, he is equally quick to defend Woolley from outsiders. His closest on-screen friendships are with Sir Arnold Robinson, Cabinet Secretary during ''Yes Minister''; Sir Frederick "Jumbo" Stewart, Permanent Secretary of the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]]; and the banker Sir Desmond Glazebrook. He is married, although his wife plays virtually no role in either series and is only seen once: next to him in bed in the Series One episode "[[Big Brother (Yes Minister)|Big Brother]]".

== Real-life references ==
Sir Humphrey has become a stereotype associated with civil servants, and the phrase "[[Bowler hat|Bowler-hatted]] Sir Humphreys" is sometimes used when describing their image. Satirical and investigative magazine ''[[Private Eye]]'' often refers to Sir Humphrey with the definite article 'the' to indicate someone in the civil service the magazine considers of similar character, e.g. "[name] is the present Sir Humphrey at the Department for Rural Affairs". Jonathan Lynn wrote in his book ''Comedy Rules'' (2011) that Sir Humphrey was named after a friend of his at Cambridge, Humphrey Barclay.

A spoof obituary for Sir Humphrey appears in ''Politico's Book of the Dead'', written by his creators, [[Antony Jay]] and [[Jonathan Lynn]], which includes some biographical details, including dates of birth and death, which he shares with Nigel Hawthorne, the actor who portrayed him.

Sir Humphrey was voted the 45th greatest comedy character in [[Channel 4]]'s 2007 "The World's Greatest Comedy Characters" poll. He was also voted 31st in a poll of "100 Greatest TV Characters", also on Channel 4.<ref>{{cite web|title=The One Hundred Greatest TV Characters|url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html|website=Channel 4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030054724/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html|archive-date=30 October 2010}}</ref>
{{anchor|fullness of time}}
Upon Nigel Hawthorne's death, the following appeared on the Editorial page of ''[[The Ottawa Citizen]]'' under the heading "No, Minister":
<blockquote>"It is sadly that we report on Sir Nigel Hawthorne, elsewhere referred to as Sir Humphrey Appleby. While it would be premature to commit ourselves to a definitive position on his merits or even his existence, a committee is being struck to consider the possibility of a decision, in the fullness of time, to regret his passing, if any."<ref>{{cite news|title=No, minister|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80710689/nigel-hawthorne-ottawa-citizen-27/|work=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=27 December 2001|page=A16|accessdate=3 July 2021|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref></blockquote>

The character was resurrected for the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] campaign in a series of short sketches on [[BBC Two]]'s late evening current affairs programme ''[[Newsnight]]''. The sketches were written by Jay and Lynn, and Sir Humphrey was played by [[Henry Goodman]].

Henry Goodman also played the part of Sir Humphrey in the 2010 stage production of ''Yes, Prime Minister''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chicester Minister Bound for Gielgud, 17 Sep |url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831276247171/Chichester+Minister+Bound+for+Gielgud%2C+17+Sep.html |work=Whats on Stage |date=11 June 2010 |access-date=12 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013174416/http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831276247171/Chichester%2BMinister%2BBound%2Bfor%2BGielgud%2C%2B17%2BSep.html |archive-date=13 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Humphrey (cat)|Humphrey]], a cat employed as the [[Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office]] at [[10 Downing Street]] from 1989 to 1997, was named after Sir Humphrey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/mar/21/1|title=Michael White: Humphrey, cat; born 1988, died 2006|last=White|first=Michael|date=2006-03-21|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Yes Minister}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleby, Humphrey}}
[[Category:Yes Minister characters]]
[[Category:Fictional civil servants]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1980]]
[[Category:Fictional knights]]
[[Category:Fictional University of Oxford people]]
[[Category:British male characters in television]]