Kate Humble was this weekend announced as the new president of the RSPB.
She is only the second woman to fill the role. The first female president of the RSPB was also the first person of either sex to hold the post. In fact Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland was remarkable in all sorts of ways.
As you may have surmised from her name, she wasn’t short of a bob or two. Her husband, a relative of the Queen Mother, was a horseracing magnate and politician. While he trained Derby winning horses, she made a name for herself as a pioneering animal rights activist and conservationist.
As well as being vice president of the RSPCA she remained president of the RSPB for an extraordinary 65 years. We’ll have to wait until 2074 to find out whether Kate can beat that record.
Other presidents include another wondrously monickered member of the nobility, Tufton Victor Hamilton Beamish, Baron Chelwood, a war hero and politician who fought hard for the introduction of the Protection of Birds Act 1954. Later, from his seat in the House of Lords, he championed the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – but will be remembered by Private Eye readers for inspiring the satirical character Sir Bufton Tufton.
Next up in the 1970s was respected broadcaster Robert Dougall whose claims to fame included presenting the first ever BBC Nine O’Clock News and being the voice which informed the nation over the radio waves that war had been declared on Germany. He also seems to have ushered in a dynasty of teenage indie musicians with grandchildren in the bands The Pipettes and NME favourites Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong.
In the 1980s presidents included Max Nicholson, a founder of both the WWF and the British Trust for Ornithology, and Mastermind presenter Magnus Magnusson.
I’ve started so I’ll finish…
Later presidents included veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby and the outgoing incumbent, respected television wildlife presenter Julian Pettifer.
So Kate is following in some fairly hallowed footsteps in her new role. But like many of those who have gone before here she has something vital for the job - an infectious passion for nature which we’re confident will inspire our members and the wider public.
So we hope you’ll join us in raising a glass and wishing her the very best of luck.