Secrets, Succession & Seduction: Catherine the Great and the British Ambassador — Sir Tony Brenton
Schedule
Fri Oct 24 2025 at 06:30 pm to 08:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Trinity Hall College | Cambridge, EN
This talk explores a little-known episode in 18th-century diplomacy: the secret correspondence between the future Catherine the Great and the British ambassador to Russia Sir Charles Hanbury Williams.At a time of political instability and personal danger Catherine navigated the treacherous terrain of the Russian court by forging an alliance with Hanbury Williams—who captivated by her intelligence and charm became her trusted adviser. Their relationship shaped in part by Catherine’s affair with the ambassador’s secretary reveals how private passions intersected with great power politics during the run-up to the Seven Years’ War.
When: Friday 24 October, 18:30-20:00 (BST)
Where: Trinity Hall, Main Lecture Theatre, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TJ
Language: English
Format: In person & Online via Zoom
In person tickets: £9 - Standard, £6 – CamRuSS Members and Concessions
Zoom tickets: £5 – Standard (video recording included); Free – CamRuSS members & Students.
This event will be followed by a drinks reception.
About the speaker
Tony Brenton KCMG is a distinguished British diplomat writer on international issues. He worked for over 30 years in the Foreign Office.
Tony first learnt Arabic and spent three years in Cairo working on the Middle East Dispute. From 1980-1989 he handled European matters in London and in Brussels working on energy issues and the birth of European environmental policy. Back in London he ran UN issues in the Foreign Office and took charge of the preparation for the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ which achieved the first global agreement on Climate Change.
After a year at Harvard he published a book about international environmental policy – ‘The Greening of Machiavelli’ (Royal Institute of International Affairs Energy and Environmental Programme 1994) learnt Russian and spent 1994-1998 in Moscow dealing with Russian economic reform.
After a further period in London on UN matters (including the establishment of the International Criminal Court) he was posted in 2001 to Washington dealing with the consequences of 9/11 the Afghanistan war and the Iraq war.
In 2004-2008 he was posted to Moscow as Ambassador where he managed Britain’s relations with Russia during a turbulent period.
He edited a publication Historically Inevitable?: Turning Points of the Russian Revolution (Profile Books 2016).
Tony is a regular commentator in The Times The Guardian The Telegraph The Independent and other British publications Director of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and a Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge.
Sir Tony Brenton has been a patron of the Cambridge Russian-Speaking Society since May 2018.
Where is it happening?
Trinity Hall College, Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TJ, United Kingdom, Cambridge
Tickets
GBP 0.00 to GBP 9.00
