   david starkey, cbe, fsa (born david robert starkey,starkey had his middle name in 1986 when he stood for election but it was not mentioned when he was awarded his cbe in 2007. 3&nbsp;january 1945) is a british constitutional historian and a radio and television presenter. he was born the only child of quaker parents, and attended kendal grammar school before entering cambridge through a scholarship. there he specialised in tudor history, writing a thesis on king henry viii's household. from cambridge he moved to the london school of economics, where he taught history until 1998. starkey is a well-known radio and television personality, first appearing on television in 1977. while a regular contributor to the bbc radio 4 debate programme the moral maze, his acerbic tongue earned him the sobriquet of "rudest man in britain"; his frequent appearances on question time have been received with criticism and applause. starkey has presented several history documentaries. in 2002 he signed a Â£2&nbsp;million contract with channel 4 for 25&nbsp;hours of programming. recently, he was a contributor on the channel 4 series jamie's dream school. starkey has written several books on the tudors. he was appointed cbe in 2007. he is an honorary associate of the national secular society and an ardent supporter of gay equality movements, with the exception of same-sex marriage, describing marriage as "part of the baggage of heterosexual society." he lives with his long-time partner in the south of england. ==early years and education== david starkey was born on 3&nbsp;januar
1945_births Academics_of_the_London_School_of_Economics Alumni_of_Fitzwilliam_College,_Cambridge Anti-Catholicism_in_the_United_Kingdom British_monarchists British_secularists Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire English_atheists English_historians English_radio_personalities English_television_presenters Fellows_of_Fitzwilliam_College,_Cambridge Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London Historians_of_the_British_Isles LGBT_broadcasters LGBT_historians LGBT_people_from_England Living_people People_from_Kendal