Harold Wilson was the youngest member of the cabinet in the 20th century<\/h2>\n
Harold Wilson, full name James Harold Wilson, was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire on 11 March 1916. The son of an industrial chemist and schoolteacher, he studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford before being drafted into the civil service following the outbreak of the Second World War<\/a>. He was a keen academic in his early life, but ultimately pursued a career in politics and became MP for Ormskirk in 1945.<\/p>\n In 1947, prime minister Clement Attlee<\/a> made Wilson \u2013\u00a0then aged 31 \u2013 president of the Board of Trade, securing his place as Britain\u2019s youngest cabinet minister since William Pitt the Younger in 1782.<\/p>\n Wilson holds a number of other records: he was the first Labour prime minister to be elected for 13 years, following his win at the general election of 1964; he is the longest-serving Labour prime minister of the 20th century; and he won four out of the five general elections he contested \u2013\u00a0more than any other postwar British leader.<\/p>\n In Wilson\u2019s obituary from the Guardian<\/em><\/a>, journalist Geoffrey Goodman recounted the time he interviewed Wilson shortly after his win at the 1964 election. Upon being asked how he felt, Wilson replied: \u201cI still can\u2019t believe it. Just think, here I am, the lad from behind those lace curtains in the Huddersfield house you saw \u2013 here I am about to go to see the Queen and become prime minister\u2026 I still can\u2019t believe it.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Two of the most significant acts to be implemented during Wilson\u2019s tenure as prime minister were the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 \u2013 which suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland \u2013 and the Sexual Offences Act 1967<\/a>, which decriminalised certain homosexual acts.<\/p>\n It has been noted by many historians that Harold Wilson and Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> got along remarkably well. Unlike many of his predecessors, Wilson did not come from a traditional ruling class background, and consequently he has been attributed to opening the Queen\u2019s eyes to a world beyond her social class. Royal biographer Robert Lacey noted, in particular, that he \u201cpersuaded the Queen to drop a lot of stuffy protocol that had remained since Queen Victoria<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Like other prime ministers before him, Wilson enjoyed weekly meetings with the Queen and held her in high regard. \u201cHe said they were the only times when he could have a serious conversation, which would not be leaked, with somebody who wasn\u2019t after his job,\u201d wrote Francis Beckett in BBC History Magazine\u2019s <\/em>\u2018Queen Elizabeth: 90 Glorious Years\u2019 bookazine<\/a>. \u201cShe enjoyed them too \u2013\u00a0after Churchill, Wilson may have been her favourite PM.\u201d<\/p>\n The Queen would often invite the Labour politician to enjoy picnics in Balmoral alongside the wider royal family, it has been reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
He was a \u201cmodest\u201d man, according to those who knew him<\/h2>\n
Wilson\u2019s government was responsible for abolishing capital punishment and decriminalising homosexuality<\/h2>\n
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Queen Elizabeth II maintained a good relationship with Wilson<\/h2>\n
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![\"Queen](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-51858080-86867be-e1712821764262.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"Queen")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>He was a liberal politician \u2013\u00a0or at least seemed to be<\/h2>\n