Unofficial English Poets Laureate
Before the creation of the official title, several monarchs appointed their own personal poets
Poet |
Appointed by |
Gulielmus Peregrinus |
Richard Coeur de Lion |
Master Henry of Avranches |
Henry III |
Robert Whittington |
Richard II |
Geoffrey Chaucer |
Edward III |
John Kay |
Edward IV |
Bernard Andre of Toulouse |
Henry VII |
John Skelton |
Henry VIII |
Edmund Spenser |
Elizabeth I |
Samuel Daniel |
Elizabeth I |
Ben Jonson |
Charles I |
Sir William D’Avenant |
Charles I |
Official British / English Poets Laureate
Poet |
Appointed by |
Dates |
John Dryden |
Charles II, James II |
1668-1689 |
Thomas Shadwell |
William III and Mary II |
1689-1692 |
Naham Tate |
William III and Mary II, William III, Anne, George I |
1692-1715 |
Nicholas Rowe |
George I |
1715-1718 |
Laurence Eusden |
George I, George II |
1718-1730 |
Colley Cibber |
George II |
1730-1757 |
William Whitehead |
George II, George III |
1757-1785 |
Thomas Warton |
George III |
1785-1790 |
Henry James Pye |
George III, George IV |
1790-1813 |
Robert Southey |
George IV, William IV, Victoria |
1813-1843 |
William Wordsworth |
Victoria |
1843-1850 |
Alfred, Lord Tennyson |
Victoria |
1850-1892 |
Alfred Austin |
Victoria, Edward VII, George V |
1896-1913 |
Robert Bridges |
George V |
1913-1930 |
John Masefield |
George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II |
1930-1967 |
Cecil Day-Lewis |
Elizabeth II |
1968-1972 |
Sir John Betjeman |
Elizabeth II |
1972-1984 |
Ted Hughes |
Elizabeth II |
1984-1998 |
Andrew Motion |
Elizabeth II |
1999-2009 |
Carol Ann Duffy |
Elizabeth II |
2009-2019 |
Simon Armitage |
Elizabeth II, Charles III |
2019- |
Created 03 July 2018
Updated 08 Sep 2022