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SUMMARY:The Ambassador\, the Grand Duke\, his Wife and her Lover\, a Talk 
 by Sir Tony Brenton\, OBE - Sir Tony Brenton OBE
DTSTART:20251024T173000Z
DTEND:20251024T193000Z
UID:TALK236029@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ksenia Afonina
DESCRIPTION:This talk explores a little-known episode in 18th-century dipl
 omacy: the secret correspondence between the future Catherine the Great an
 d the British ambassador to Russia\, Sir Charles Hanbury Williams.\nAt a t
 ime of political instability and personal danger\, Catherine navigated the
  treacherous court by allying with Hanbury Williams—captivated by her in
 telligence and charm—who became her trusted adviser. Their relationship\
 , shaped also by Catherine’s affair with the ambassador’s secretary\, 
 shows how private passions could intersect with great power politics on th
 e eve of the Seven Years’ War.\n\n\nWhen: Friday\, 24 October\, 18:30-20
 :00 (BST)\n\nWhere: Trinity Hall\, Main Lecture Theatre\, Trinity Lane\, C
 ambridge CB2 1TJ\n\nLanguage: English\n\nFormat: In-person & Online via Zo
 om\n\nIn-person tickets: £9 – Standard\, £6 – CamRuSS members and co
 ncessions\n\nZoom tickets: £5 – Standard\, free – CamRuSS members & s
 tudents.\n\nAccess to the video recording is included with all ticket purc
 hases\n\nVideo recording only: £5\n\nThis event will be followed by a dri
 nks reception.\n\nPlease book your tickets via AllEvents\, https://shortur
 l.at/7j3Nr\n\nMore details on our website\, https://shorturl.at/8iA5s\n\n\
 n\nSir Tony Brenton\, OBE\, is a distinguished British diplomat\, writer o
 n international issues. He worked for over 30 years in the Foreign Office.
 \nTony first learnt Arabic and spent three years in Cairo working on the M
 iddle East Dispute. From 1980-1989 he handled European matters in London a
 nd in Brussels\, working on energy issues and the birth of European enviro
 nmental policy. Back in London he ran UN issues in the Foreign Office and 
 took charge of the preparation for the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’\, which ach
 ieved the first global agreement on Climate Change.\nAfter a year at Harva
 rd he published a book about international environmental policy – ‘The
  Greening of Machiavelli’ (Royal Institute of International Affairs\, En
 ergy and Environmental Programme\, 1994)\, learnt Russian and spent 1994-1
 998 in Moscow dealing with Russian economic reform.\nAfter a further perio
 d in London on UN matters (including the establishment of the Internationa
 l Criminal Court)\, he was posted in 2001 to Washington dealing with the c
 onsequences of 9/11\, the Afghanistan war and the Iraq war.\nIn 2004-2008 
 he was posted to Moscow as Ambassador where he managed Britain’s relatio
 ns with Russia during a turbulent period.\nHe edited a publication Histori
 cally Inevitable?: Turning Points of the Russian Revolution (Profile Books
 \, 2016).\nTony 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\, Ca
 mbridge.\nSir Tony Brenton has been a patron of the Cambridge Russian-Spea
 king Society since May 2018.\n\n
LOCATION: Trinity Hall\, Main Lecture Theatre\, Trinity Lane\, Cambridge C
 B2 1TJ
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