By invitation only
Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip, and the attempt to create a Commonwealth ‘Bilderberg group’, 1964–66
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11943112 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Murphy (0009-0004-0192-8078), Philip M Murphy (0000-0002-1080-8201, Murphy Oil Corporation (United States), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 245-265 |
| Publication date | 2005-05-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-6534 • E-ISSN: 1743-9329 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03086530500123853 |
| OpenAlex | W2037318437 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This article examines the attempt between 1964 and 1966 to create new conference for the Commonwealth modelled on the secretive Euro-American Bilderberg group, and considers the roles of Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the Duke of Edinburgh in the venture. This was the only major initiative on the structure of the Commonwealth to originate with the government of Harold Wilson during its first term in office. Consideration of the scheme was suspended as a result of Rhodesian UDI and was never reopened. Although short-lived, the Bilderberg initiative offers important insights into a number of issues. It suggests that the original Bilderberg group had assumed a considerable importance to senior figures in the Labour Party by 1964. It also illustrates the distinct ambivalence with which members of the British elite viewed the changing nature of the Commonwealth, and points to a desire among some of them to recreate the atmosphere of a more exclusive ‘club’. Above all it sheds light upon the highly idiosyncratic negotiating style of Lord Mountbatten, and suggests a desire on the part of Prince Philip to establish for himself a fully independent role within the Commonwealth
Ambivalence · Ancient history · Archaeology · Ceylon · Club · Commonwealth · Elite · Government (linguistics · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Style (visual arts · African history and culture studies · Australian History and Society · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2008 - 2021 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |