# St George's House (Windsor Castle)

St George's House, based in the grounds of Windsor Castle, is a British organisation committed to "effecting change for the better by nurturing wisdom through dialogue".
Founded in 1966 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the then Dean of Windsor, Robin Woods, it brings together people of responsibility and influence in business, government, society and the church to consult on contemporary issues of moment.

## Name and mission

St George's House, the organisation, takes its name from the building of that name in close proximity to and associated with St George's Chapel within the perimeter of the Castle. It belongs to the College of Canons, founded in 1348 and is where participants are hosted for the duration of consultations on given topics. The organisation brings together thinkers from different disciplines and roles in British society with the purpose of investigating means of overcoming some of the major challenges in contemporary society through dialogue.

### Association with the Bard

The Vicars' Hall is part of the premises used for consultations. Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is claimed to have received its first ever performance in the Vicars' Hall, (built in 1415) in front of Queen Elizabeth I, in 1597, for the festival of the Order of the Garter, though specific evidence for this seems lacking.

## Council of St George's House

The Council of St George's House comprises the Representative Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Dean and Canons of Windsor and other members.

### Representative Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter

* The Princess Royal, KG, KT, GCVO, GCStJ, QSO, GCL, CMM, CD, ADC(P)
* The Duke of Abercorn, KG

### The Dean and Canons of Windsor

* The Rev Canon Dr Hueston Finlay
* The Rev Canon Martin Poll
* The Rev Canon Dr Mark Powell

### Members

* The Rt Hon The Baroness Blackstone, PC
* The Rt Hon The Lord Curry of Kirkharle, CBE
* Mr David Darsch
* Ms Katie Ghose
* The Rt Rev Dom Christopher Jamison, OSB
* Lt Gen Phil Jones, CB, CBE, DL
* Dame Mary Marsh, DBE, FRSA
* Mr John Newbegin
* The Rt Hon The Baroness Northover, PC
* The Rev and Rt Hon The Baroness Sherlock, OBE
* The Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman, DBE
* The Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich
* The Rt Hon The Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, PC

## Events
### Consultations

St George's House hosts around 60 events for leaders from across society each year. Previous consultations have taken place with Help Rescue the Planet (2012), the Airey Neave Trust on countering violent extremism (2014), and with the Corsham Institute and RAND Europe (2016).

### St George's House Lectures
#### The Annual Lecture

The Annual Lecture was established in 1978 and is sponsored by Rio Tinto. The first lecture was given by Mr Kingman Brewster, then Ambassador of the US in London. The 2016 Lecture was given by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

#### The Elson Ethics Lecture

The Elson Ethics Lecture is supported by Ambassador Edward Elston to promote discussion and debate on issues of an ethical and moral nature. The 2016 Elson Ethics Lecture was given by the Baroness Manningham-Buller LG DCB, former Director-General of MI5, the Security Service.

## Society of Leadership Fellows

The Society of Leadership Fellows was established in 2016 to recognise the 50th anniversary of the founding of St George's House

## In popular media

St George's House, the Dean of Windsor, and Prince Philip are prominently featured, albeit in a fictionalized series of events, in the seventh episode of the third series of the Netflix series The Crown, "Moondust".