Cecil Harmsworth King facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cecil Harmsworth King
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King aged c. 19 years
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| Born | 20 February 1901 Poynters Hall, Totteridge, Hertfordshire, England
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| Died | 17 April 1987 (aged 86) Dublin, Ireland
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| Education | |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Spouse(s) |
Agnes Margaret Cooke
(m. 1923; div. 1958)Dame Ruth Railton
(m. 1962) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) |
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Cecil Harmsworth King (born February 20, 1901 – died April 17, 1987) was a very important person in the world of newspapers and magazines in Britain. He was the boss of famous newspapers like the Daily Mirror and many other publications. He even served on the board of the Bank of England for a few years.
Contents
Who Was Cecil King?
His Early Life
Cecil Harmsworth King was born on February 20, 1901, in Totteridge, England. His family was from Ireland. His father, Sir Lucas White King, was a professor at Trinity College, Dublin. His mother, Geraldine, was related to famous newspaper owners, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe and Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere.
Cecil was the fourth of six children. He went to Winchester College and then to Christ Church, Oxford University. People who knew him said he believed he was meant to be a leader.
His Amazing Career
In 1937, Cecil King was an advertising director for one of his uncle's newspapers. He teamed up with a talented journalist named Hugh Cudlipp. When Cecil became a senior director, he made Cudlipp his new editor. Cudlipp was only 23, making him the youngest chief editor in Fleet Street, London's newspaper hub.
Together, Cecil King and Hugh Cudlipp transformed the Daily Mirror newspaper. They made it the biggest-selling daily paper in the world! In 1967, the Daily Mirror sold a record-breaking 5,282,137 copies.
By 1963, King was in charge of the International Publishing Corporation (IPC). This was the largest publishing company in the world at the time. It owned the Daily Mirror and about 200 other newspapers and magazines. Cecil King had a huge influence on public life in Britain. He even believed that the Mirror's criticism of Winston Churchill's government helped cause its downfall after World War II.
In 1968, Cecil King decided to publish a front-page article in the Daily Mirror. This article called for the removal of the government led by Harold Wilson. The board of IPC, the company he chaired, was not happy about this. They felt he had gone against company rules and hurt the company's reputation. They asked him to resign, but he refused. So, on May 30, he was dismissed from his job. His deputy, Hugh Cudlipp, took over.
His Family and Later Life
Cecil King first married Agnes Margaret Cooke in 1923. They had four children: Michael, Francis, Priscilla, and Colin. They later divorced.
In 1962, he married Ruth Railton. Ruth was famous for starting the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
In 1974, Cecil King and his second wife moved from London to Dublin, Ireland. He passed away at his home in Dublin on April 17, 1987, after a long illness. He was survived by his wife, Dame Ruth, and two of his children from his first marriage.
In Pop Culture
Cecil King appears in the Netflix TV series The Crown. He is shown in episode five of season 3, called "Coup." Actor Rupert Vansittart plays him in the show.
