Josephine Carew, The Countess of Strathmore

The Right Honourable
The Countess of Strathmore
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The Right Honourable The Countess of Strathmore LG GCB DCVO CH PC LHC KC MP LLB
	Portrait commissioned and painted by her husband The Earl of Devon.
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 January 2025; (52 days)
Monarch	George VII
Preceded by	The Earl of Durham
	In office; 1 March 2024 – 12 June 2024; (104 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Preceded by	The Baron Stafford
Succeeded by	The Earl of Durham
First Secretary of State
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 January 2025; (26 days)
Monarch	George VII
Prime Minister	The 2nd Duke of Cambridge
Preceded by	Nicholas Burke
Secretary of State for the Home Office
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 13 November 2024; (101 days)
Monarch	Charles III; George VII
Prime Minister	The Duke of Somerset; The Earl of Devon; The 2nd Duke of Cambridge
Deputy	Anastasia Nelson; Sir Philip Wright
Preceded by	The Baron Scarborough
	In office; 5 May 2024 – 1 July 2024; (58 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Prime Minister	The Baron Knightstone
Deputy	The Baron Calder
Preceded by	The 2nd Viscount Douglas
Succeeded by	The Baron Huntingdon
	In office; 5 March 2024 – 22 April 2024; (49 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Prime Minister	The Baron Knightstone
Preceded by	The 2nd Duke of Edinburgh
Succeeded by	The 2nd Viscount Douglas
Leader of the Unionist Party
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 February 2025; (13 days)
Chair	The Earl of Devon
Preceded by	The Baron Calder
	In office; 27 June 2024 – 2 August 2024; (37 days)
Chair	The Baron Calder
Preceded by	The Viscount Sidmouth
Succeeded by	The Duke of Warwick
Member of Parliament for East Devon
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 5 January 2025; (48 days)
Preceded by	The Earl of Devon
Majority	13 (56.5%)
Member of the Whitehall Foreign Affairs Council
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 13 November 2024; (101 days)
Prime Minister	The Duke of Somerset; The Earl of Devon; The 2nd Duke of Cambridge
Monarch
Crown Offices
Lord President of the Council
	In office; 27 May 2024 – 12 June 2024; (17 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Preceded by	The Duke of Westminster
Succeeded by	The 2nd Viscount Douglas
Lord-Lieutenant of Wales
	In office; 29 May 2024 – 3 August 2024; (67 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Preceded by	Patrick Maniar-Wright
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Monarch
Ministerial Offices
Prime Minister of Great Britain; First Lord of the Treasury
	In office; 1 July 2024 – 2 August 2024; (33 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Deputy	The Duke of Warwick
Preceded by	The Baron Knightstone
Succeeded by	The Duke of Warwick
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 22 April 2024 – 1 May 2024; (10 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Prime Minister	The Baron Knightstone
Deputy	The Countess of Argyll
Preceded by	Sir James Kennedy
Succeeded by	The Viscount Salisbury
Deputy Prime Minister
	In office; 5 May 2024 – 1 July 2024; (58 days)
Monarch	Charles III
Prime Minister	The Baron Knightstone
Preceded by	Owain Carew-Grey
Succeeded by	The Duke of Warwick
Chancellor of the Exchequer
	In office; 10 January 2024 – 22 January 2024; (13 days)
Prime Minister	The 2nd Viscount Douglas
Preceded by	The 2nd Viscount Douglas
Succeeded by	Sir Elio Somerset
Monarch
Parliamentary Offices
Speaker of the House of Commons; Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
	In office; 24 January 2024 – 5 March 2024; (42 days)
Monarch	Edward IX; Charles III
Prime Minister	The 2nd Viscount Douglas; Sir Thomas Carew
Deputy	The 2nd Duke of Edinburgh
Preceded by	Llywellyn E.J. Lleyton
Succeeded by	The Viscount Salisbury
Senior Deputy Speaker of; the House of Lords
	In office; 15 November 2024 – 1 January 2025; (48 days)
Monarch	Charles III; George VII
Lord Speaker	The Earl of Durham
Preceded by	The Duke of Westminster
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal;
	In office; 10 November 2024 – 1 January 2025; (53 days)
Monarch	Charles III; George VII
Title	Countess of Strathmore
Member of Parliament for Tavistock
	In office; 1 July 2024 – 17 August 2024; (48 days)
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Majority	21 (77.8%)
Member of Parliament for; Queen's Park and Maida Vale
	In office; 8 January 2024 – 29 June 2024; (174 days)
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Majority	11 (61.11%)
Chairwoman of the Military and International Affairs Committee
	In office; 8 March 2024 – 11 May 2024; (65 days)
Speaker	The Viscount Salisbury; Owain Carew-Grey
Preceded by	The 2nd Duke of Edinburgh
Succeeded by	Frederick Mountbatten-Urquhart
	In office; 11 January 2024 – 24 January 2024; (14 days)
Speaker	Llywellyn E.J. Lleyton
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	The 2nd Duke of Edinburgh
Chair
Senior Political Offices
Leader of the Unionist Party
	In office; 27 June 2024 – 2 August 2024; (37 days)
Chair	The Baron Calder
Preceded by	The Viscount Sidmouth
Succeeded by	The Duke of Warwick
Chairwoman of the British Liberal Party
	In office; 29 February 2024 – 1 May 2024; (63 days)
Preceded by	The 2nd Duke of Edinburgh
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Leader of the British Constitutionalist & Unionist Party
	In office; 23 December 2023 – 17 January 2024; (26 days)

Josephine Mary Anne Hyacinth Carew, The Countess of Strathmore (née Coleridge; 8 December 2023) is a British jurist, writer, educator, royal functionary, stateswoman, parliamentarian, and Unionist politician who currently serves as the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for the Home Office, Leader of the Unionist Party, Member of Parliament for East Devon, and Member of the Whitehall Foreign Affairs Council. Additionally, she works on the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Preservation Institute of which George VII is Royal Patron and in the Church of England as Lector of Chester Cathedral.

Lady Strathmore came onto the scene when she was hired to represent the Crown (Edward IX) in the Judicial Review, Ex parte Mr. Romefeller and Lord Somerset in which the Crown had been named a respondent. The fledgling barrister was successful in petitioning the Court to remove the Crown as a respondent and proceeded to make a name for herself in a series of legal actions within the justice system. Strathmore would go on to found the British Constitutionalist & Unionist Party in late December and became a loud voice during The Duke of Warwick Affair which neccesitated the dissolution of the 29th Parliament. She would successfully contest the January 2024 General Election, in coalition with the Heron Party, becoming the Member of Parliament for Queen's Park and Maida Vale.

She was tapped to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury for the Second Douglas Ministry, though she would later resign from that role, serving from 10-22 January 2024. During that time, her party merged with the British Renewal Party and formed the British Liberal Party, trading in the soft blue and grey tones for maroon and beige. Despite intitially losing her bid for the Speakership, she was unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Commons, after the resignation of Sir Llywellyn Lleyton, on 23 January 2024.

A British noblemwoman, following her marriage to Sir Thomas Carew and his elevation as the Baron Knightstone, she took her hand to writing, making a name for herself with the publications of "Charting the Political Landscape" and "His Majesty's Government: The Sick Man of Great Britain" in the British Broadcasting Corporation. This would be the first time she took a hard look at the continuity and change of the Empire's institutions with the later article setting the stage for what would later be called the Recruitment and Retention Crises. She would go to be elected Chairwoman of her party, following the resignation of Miann Somerset-Grey, 2nd Duke of Edinburgh, on 18 February 2024 and assumed the role on 29 February when the latter's resignation came into force.

With the Accession of Charles III, Lady Strathmore was appointed Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain for the first time, as well as being created King's Counsel for her services to the legal profession and Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for her service as Speaker of the House of Commons. She would later petition the Royal Court of Justice in Ex parte Lord High Chancellor, re: Enforceable Timeframe. Her party formalised its partnership with the Herons with the Concorde Coalition and together they successfully contested the March 2024 General Election, which saw Thomas Carew, The Earl of Devon appointed for the first time as Prime Minister of Great Britain. During the election, she published "The Ivory Tower of Westminster" in The Times as a successor to "Sick Man" on 2 March 2024, this time taking aim at the institution of the House of Lords which had for some time been a target of upset and criticism.

During the First Knightstone Ministry, she served as Secretary of State for the Home Office, the first time for a woman since Firentia Somerset-Howard-Campbell, The Countess of Clare. During her tenure at 2 Marsham Street, she published the Marsham White Paper and made it the first government to declare a recruitment and retention crisis. Her efforts were well-rewarded with an increase in nation count and significant progress in the Home Office, but was rebuffed when the Dot Bot, a tool used for manual recruitment, permanently suspended its manual recruitment functions as well as a several week downtime with NationStates servers. Lady Strathmore would resign near the end of the term, however, as the Concorde Coalition collapsed on 22 April 2024.

A week later, in a huge upset to the political system, Strathmore and her husband, then Lord and Lady Knightstone, left both of their parties on 1 May 2024 and founded the Unionists having been slated to campaign against each other as the Leaders of their former parties. Their move was so significant, both the Heron and Liberal parties collapsed with the Unionist Party turning into one of the biggest parties in the Empire's history in just a matter of days. She was elected as Chairwoman of the Party the day of the founding by the Unionist Frontbench. Her party would go on to win the May 2024 General Election in a landslide, thus securing Lord Knightstone a second term.

For the Second Knightstone Ministry, she returned as Home Secretary and was additionally appointed Deputy Prime Minister, though her opening statement would invite a series of heated letters between her and Cameron Romefeller, The Countess of Argyll. Lady Strathmore found continued success in the Home Office and was no less deterred to find solutions for the crises which confronted the Empire in domestic areas, even reporting that the Marsham White Paper was mostly completed. On 22 May 2024, she was created a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for her service as Lord High Chancellor and was also appointed Lord President of the Council a few days later.

Through the latter half of May, the Unionist Party had their first conference and elected Lady Strathmore as their Leader following the resignation of Lord Knightstone, who wished to step down from 10 Downing Street following the next election. Throughout June, she prepared for the General Election and worked on her first book, The Grace of Powys. On the Ides of June, she resigned as Lord High Chancellor and Lord President of the Council in preparation for the General Election. Strathmore also published "Progressive Conservative Framework", which has continued to define Unionist politics to this day, on 23 June 2024.

On 27 June 2024, Parliament was dissolved and the campaign season for the July 2024 General Election began. At the same time, she was created the Baroness Wilton for her services to the Crown, Government, and Parliament. The election saw an intense period of virtiol and heartache as the Unionist Party pitted itself against the British Federation of Labour (later the Liberal-Progressive Action Party). For the month prior to the election, there had been significant political commentary with some sources saying campaigning started as early as 4 June 2024 de facto. In the end, Strathmore's party won the election in a landslide, but not without immense mental and emotional consequences as Lady Strathmore and Lady Argyll battled it out with the latter still upset from the events that led up to the formation of the Unionist Party.

Strathmore was invited to form a government in the name of Charles III on 1 July 2024 and thus became Prime Minister of Great Britain and First Lord of the Treasury. The Premiership of the Baroness Wilton was fraught with subsequent tensions from the General Election. Despite significant advancements and success with her leadership, Strathmore was hampered by the Darkness Period, the scandal of the Burke Affair, a vitriolic Opposition, and an uncooperative House of Lords. These factors, along with personal mental and physical health, caused her to resign on 2 August 2024, about halfway through the term. Completely exhausted, her activity waned away quickly and she eventually departed the Empire on 28 August 2024 following the death of her former son Owain Carew-Grey, Lord Knightstone.

Lady Strathmore returned on 10 November 2024 and was created with special remainder The Countess of Strathmore, Viscountess Althorp, and Baroness Coleridge. She returned as Home Secretary for the third time during the Third Somerset Ministry on 13 November 2024 and through the Second Sidmouth Ministry after Matthew Somerset, The Duke of Somerset resigned as Prime Minister. She was also summoned to the House of Lords for the 36th Parliament through her Earldom, served as Senior Deputy Speaker for William Somerset, The Earl of Durham, Lord Speaker, and Member of the Whitehall Foreign Affairs Council.

During her tenure, she brought charges against James Spencer, The Baron Scarborough, the second-longest cumulatively serving Home Secretary, on two counts of poaching for New United Kingdom. Lord Scarborough left the Empire soon after the wrongdoing was announced in the region, leaving the case to be held in absentia. After New United Kingdom proscribed Lady Strathmore for her actions conducted in the pursuit of official duties, she appointed the newly-returned Elio Somerset as prosecutor to see out the case, which had at that point been ongoing for a month and still was not out of the discovery period. R v Scarborough would later be dismissed without prejudice on 21 January 2025 after over forty days without the Trial Period having commenced.

In one of the most important moves of her career, she drafted and published the lengthy white paper The Path Forward: Addressing the Recruitment and Retention Crises, which sought to replace the Marsham White Paper. The publication garnered universal acclaim and support from the Herons, Unionists, British Workers, and independents with everyone agreeing it was the right plan for the Empire domestically.

On the Accession of George VII, Lady Strathmore was appointed as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain for the second time and was sworn into the Privy Council once more, becoming a trusted advisor for the new, but aging Sovereign of the Empire of Great Britain.

Together with the Unionist Party and Heron Party, she successfully returned to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for East Devon, having taken up the constituency after he retired from elected politics. After the January 2025 General Election provided a hung Parliament, the Earl of Durham was elected as compromise candidate for a coalition agreement between the opposing Unionist-Heron Parliamentary Coalition and the British Workers' Party. As such, she continued as Home Secretary during the Durham Ministry and became the longest cumulatively-serving Home Secretary on 3 January 2025.

During the Durham Ministry, she saw to the drafting and proposal of the Governance Act 2025 and The Territory and Borders Act 2025, landmark bills which endeavoured to fulfil the biggest objectives of the Cinque Ports Initiative of The Path Forward. The initiative was also supported by the Mental Health Awareness and Leave Protections (Repeal) Act 2025, proposed by Henry Somerset, The Duke of Cambridge and the Evidence Provision Alteration (Reasonable Evidencing Limitations Amendment) Act 2025, proposed by William Somerset, The Earl of Durham. For her efforts, she was awarded the Prime Minister's Performance Bonus on 25 January 2025.

On 25 January 2025, Lady Strathmore proposed the Expulsion (St Albans-Welwyn-Hatfield) Resolution 2025 to the House of Commons in a move that sent shockwaves through the political spectrum. Noa de Carteret, who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the British Workers' Party, and Member of Parliament for St Albans-Welwyn-Hatfield, had been nearly completely absent within His Majesty's Government and the House of Commons. With de Carteret's case for his absence unconvincing, the Commons voted in favour of the expulsion with mostly bipartisan support. Due to this, he resigned before the vote could be tallied and the resolution was tabled. The composition of the House of Commons moved in favour of the Heron-Unionist Parliamentary Coalition as de Carteret and Charles Wright, The Viscount Kirkwall resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. During Lord Durham's Cabinet Reshuffle two days later, on 27 January 2025, Lady Strathmore was appointed First Secretary of State.

During the February 2025 Conference of the Unionist Party, Lady Strathmore made a surprise bid to be Leader on 8 February 2025. She was formally nominated by Thomas Carew, The Earl of Devon and supported by August Carew, The Baron Calder. She was unanimously elected the next day and thanked the party for their support and "hope[d] to do [them] all justice with [their] confidence." On 16 February 2025, the 37th Parliament of Great Britain was dissolved early on the advice of the Prime Minister, William Somerset, 2nd Duke of Cambridge. Lady Strathmore led her party in campaigning with "The Eastbourne Plan" based on the Six R's, which would "have a critical role in waking UP the Empire from its golden slumbers."

Lady Strathmore resides on the Knightstone Estate, a large country estate in Devon, comprising mainly of four English manor houses: The Chanters House, Knightstone Manor, Cadhay, and Escot House. Her family owns Mamhead House, also in Devon, as their holiday home. On 4 January 2024, she became engaged to Thomas Carew, The Earl of Devon and they married on 7 January 2024. Together, they are the parents of Owain Carew, Lord Sidmouth and August Carew, The Viscount Clare.

When she was elevated to the peerage on 23 June 2024, she became Baroness Wilton, styled as Lady Wilton. ^[1] After taking a several-month holiday, her son, Lord Calder, succeeded to her peerage. When she returned, she was created The Countess of Strathmore, Viscountess Althorp, and Baroness Coleridge, styled as Lady Strathmore. ^[2] She is known as Cabbage to Lord Devon, M. to the Unionist Party, and Josi to the rest of the Empire.

Residence and Estate

Knightstone Estate

Bought by Thomas Carew, The Earl of Devon, the Knightstone Estate is the familial land of the Carew Family with their seat at The Chanters House. Other residences include Knightstone Manor (after which the estate is named), Cadhay House, and Escot House. The estate is situated in East Devon and holds various farms and tenancies.

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles

23 June 2024 - 21 August 2024: The Baroness Wilton
19 November 2024 - present: The Countess of Strathmore
19 November 2024 - present: The Viscountess Althorp
19 November 2024 - present: The Baroness Coleridge
16 February 2025 - present: Lady of the Manor of Durness

Style

1 January 2025 - present: The Right Honourable Lady Josephine Carew, The Countess of Strathmore
- Formal: The Right Honourable Lady Josephine Mary Anne Hyacinth Carew, The Countess of Strathmore, Viscountess Althorp, Baroness Coleridge, Lady of the Manor of Durness, Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain, Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Member of the Order of Companions of Honour, Companion of the Royal Order of Charles III, Recipient of the Charles III Coronation Medal, Privy Counsellor, Lord High Chancellor, King's Counsel

Appointments

1 March 2024 - present: King's Counsellor
1 March 2024 - 12 June 2024: Lord High Chancellor
4 March 2024 - 9 April 2024: Privy Counsellor of Charles III
27 May 2024 - 12 June 2024: Privy Counsellor of Charles III
1 July 2024 - 21 August 2024: Privy Counsellor of Charles III
1 January 2025 - present: Lord High Chancellor
1 January 2025 - present: Privy Counsellor of George VII

Honours

Orders and Awards

1 March 2024: Companion of the Royal Order of Charles III
1 March 2024: Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour
6 April 2024: Dame Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
13 April 2024: Recipient of the Charles III Coronation Medal
22 May 2024: Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
28 July 2024: Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
18 August 2024: Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
16 February 2025: Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter

Ranks

Royal Air Force

13 December 2023 - 22 January 2024: Wing Commander
8 April 2024 - 21 August 2024: Air Vice Marshal

Coat of Arms

Coat of arms of The Countess of Strathmore
	Adopted 26 June 2024 Coronet A coronet of a Baroness Crest On a mount Vert a horse passant Argent (Crumby Crumpet) holding in the mouth a plume of one ostrich feather Or (Carew) Escutcheon Per fess, 1st: Gules a lion passant guardant Or, 2nd: Azure a fleur-de-lis Or, 3rd: per Fess Gules and Azure a lamb Or. Supporters On either side a stag Argent, attired and unguled Or overall a Fess Or a lion passant Sable. Motto Selon Ma Puissance (According to my power) Orders Ribbon of the Order of the Companions of Honour (appointed Member 1 March 2024) Circlet of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (appointed Dame Commander 6 April 2024) Ribbon of the Royal Victorian Order (appointed Dame Commander 22 May 2024)

Footnotes

↑ [1] "32nd Parliament Honours List", Buckingham Palace Press Office, 23 June 2024
↑ Granting Titles of Nobility, #court-circular, 19 November 2024

[1] [1] "32nd Parliament Honours List", Buckingham Palace Press Office, 23 June 2024

[2] Granting Titles of Nobility, #court-circular, 19 November 2024

[1]

[2]

Josephine Carew, The Countess of Strathmore

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