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On Christmas Eve 1814, the future PM Lord John Russell had a private audience with Napoleon on Elba. "According to family tradition, he told the deposed emperor at length about the Russells. Napoleon remained silent, but went to the corner of the room & relieved himself."
This & other prime ministerial anecdotes/quotations from current bedtime reading: @AndrewGimson's hugely enjoyable series of biographies, 'Brief Lives From Walpole To May.' It has the added bonus of glorious illustrations by @MartinRowson
Another interesting detail about Lord John Russell that I had not hitherto realised is that he was - after Spencer Perceval, the only British Prime Minister ever to have been assassinated - our shortest Prime Minister. He was 5 ft 4 & 3/4 inches tall.
And Bertrand Russell was his grandson.
