Cooper on Rothschild

Of all the Jews throughout history to be closest to Royalty, Lord Nathaniel “Natty” Rothschild (1840-1915) is a strong candidate to top the list. One hundred and thirty years ago, he made history in the relationship between the Royals and the Jewish community. In 1889, on his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, he became the first Jew to occupy the role.

The “LLs”, which still exist today serve as the Queen’s “ambassadors” in the regions. They wear ceremonial uniform when a Royal visits their patch, and also perform other civic duties, giving out awards for volunteering and other honours. Nowadays there are 98 Lord Lieutenants, based on the county system. One of them, Robert Voss, a retired metal trader, is LL for Hertfordshire. He is thought to be the first Jew to occupy the post since Lord Rothschild. There have also been a smattering of Jewish Deputy Lieutenants, such as Sir Samuel Montagu (1832-1911), Natty’s great rival, who was Orthodox and a banker. In the modern era, the businessman and philanthropist David Dangoor is a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London.

Rothschild was not only the first Jewish Lord Lieutenant but also the first Jew to sit in the House of Lords, after he was awarded a peerage in 1885. The Liberal PM William Gladstone appointed him a hereditary peer. Rothschild followed in the footsteps of his father, Lionel, who had become the first MP to take his seat as a Jew, in 1858.

Natty’s appointment as Lord Lieutenant was a personal breakthrough but also significant for the Jewish community at the time. He succeeded the blue-blooded Duke of Buckingham. The Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII, enjoyed a close friendship with Natty but had to exercise diplomacy to those who lost out. The Prince apologised to Lord Carrington for overlooking him: “it would have been strange ten years ago but times change. He [Lord Rothschild] is a good fellow and a man of business, and he and his family own half the County.” On Natty’s appointment, he reached the apex of the ladder of the county hierarchy. He went one step further than his Uncle, Mayer, who had been High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

Natty’s close relationship with the King developed over several decades. They had met as students, when the Prince came up to Cambridge in January 1861 (incidentally a year later Edward embarked on a four-month tour of the Middle East including the land of Israel). As head of the Rothschild bank, the Prince was reliant on Natty’s generosity. One such example was that £100,000, a huge sum in those days, was made available by taking out a mortgage on the Sandringham Estate. In 1883 Edward wrote him a gushing letter, saying: “My dear Natty, I cannot find words too extreme in gratitude for your kindness and liberality, which you may be convinced will never be forgotten by me.” Natty was asked to serve as honorary Treasurer of a charitable committee to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Prince’s mother, Queen Victoria in 1897 (it later became known as the King’s Fund). It was no surprise that Natty was invited to join the privy council after the King’s Coronation in 1902.

As well as his friendship with the King, Rothschild was friendly with the other giant figures of his age: British politicians Disraeli, Balfour and Asquith as well as Theodor Herzl and Cecil Rhodes. He benefited from Britain’s imperial expansion, and also played a role in this, particularly in Egypt and South Africa. His friendship with Rhodes, who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896, enabled him to invest heavily in the diamond mines of South Africa, particularly De Beers and to participate fully in the expansion of the deep gold mines in the Rand. Rhodes had a gargantuan vision of the British Empire obtaining mastery over the entire world. He thought that Britain should take over the whole African continent. Rothschild shared this vision to a limited extent and at times intervened to assist British imperial ambitions in Southern Africa and Egypt. Until the end of Herzl’s life, Natty supported his colonization schemes in El Arish and East Africa but vetoed any suggestion of Jewish self-government. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Rothschild was prepared to see British control of Palestine, though the Jewish side of the question remained a secondary concern.

Natty Rothschild was a commanding figure of his age, enjoying a particularly close relationship with Royalty. He was a man of many different dimensions but of everything he did, his role as Lord Lieutenant highlighted his close Royal relationships, and reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun about today’s positive engagement between our community and the Royal Family.

John and Zaki Cooper, father and son co-wrote the article. John is the author of “The Unexpected Story of Nathaniel Rothschild” (Bloomsbury).