Traditionally, the Embassy to France' was the most prestigious posting in the British foreign service, although in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, diplomatic representation was often lacking due to wars between the two countries.

British Ambassadors and Ministers to France, 1697-present

• The Earl of Portland, Ambassador Extraordinary 1697-1698
• The Earl of Jersey, Ambassador Extraordinary 1698-1699
• The Earl of Manchester, Ambassador Extraordinary 1699-1701
• no representation 1701-1712 (the War of the Spanish Succession)
• The Duke of Hamilton, Ambassador Extraordinary 1712¹
• The Duke of Shrewsbury, Ambassador Extraordinary 1712-1713
• Matthew Prior, Minister 1713-1714
• The Earl of Stair, Minister-Plenipotentiary 1714-1719; Ambassador 1719-1720
• Sir Robert Sutton, Ambassador 1720-1721
• Sir Luke Schaub, Ambassador Extraordinary 1721-1724
• The Lord Walpole of Wolterton Ambassador Extraordinary 1724-1727; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1727-1730
• The Earl Waldegrave, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1730-1740
• Anthony Thompson, Chargé d'Affaires 1740-1744
• no representation 1744-1748 (the War of the Austrian Succession)
• The Earl of Albemarle, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1748-1754
• no representation 1754-1761 (the Seven Years War)
• Hans Stanley, Chargé d'Affaires 1761
• no representation 1761-1762 (the Seven Years War)
• The Duke of Bedford, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1762-1763
• The Earl of Hertford, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1763-1765
• The Duke of Richmond, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1765-1766
• The Earl of Rochford, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1766-1768
• The Earl Harcourt, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1768-1772
• The Viscount Stormont, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1772-1778
• no representation 1778-1782 (American Revolutionary War)
• Thomas Grenville, Minister 1782
• Alleyne Fitzherbert, Minister Plenipotentiary 1782-1783
• The Duke of Manchester, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary1783
• The Duke of Dorset, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1783-1789
• Earl Gower, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1790-1792
• no representation 1792-1801 (French Revolutionary Wars)
• The Marquess Cornwallis, Plenipotentiary 1801-1802
• The Lord Whitworth, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1802-1803
• no representation 1803-1814 (Napoleonic Wars)
• The Duke of Wellington, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1814-1815
• Sir Charles Stuart, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1815-1824
• The Viscount Granville, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1824-1828
• The Lord Stuart de Rothesay, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1828-1830
• The Viscount Granville, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1830-1835
• The Lord Cowley, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1835
• The Earl Granville, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1835-1841
• The Lord Cowley, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1841-1846
• The Marquess of Normanby, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1846-1852
• The Lord Cowley, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1852-1867
• The Lord Lyons, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1867-1887
• The Earl of Lytton, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1887-1891
• The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1891-1896
• Sir Edmund Monson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1896-1905
• Sir Francis Bertie, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1905-1918
• The Earl of Derby, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1918-1920
• The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1920-1922
• The Marquess of Crewe, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenpotentiary 1922-1928
• Sir William Tyrrell, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1928-1934
• Sir George Clerk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1934-1937
• Sir Eric Phipps, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1937-1939
• Sir Ronald Campbell, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1939-1940
• no representation 1940-1944 (German occupation of France during World War II)
• Duff Cooper, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1944-1948 (Representative to the Free French in Algiers from 1943 to 1944)
• Sir Oliver Harvey, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1948-1954
• Sir Gladwyn Jebb, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1954-1960
• Sir Pierson Dixon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1960-1965
• Sir Patrick Reilly, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1965-1968
• Christopher Soames, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1968-1972
• Sir Edward Tompkins 1972-1975
• Sir Nicholas Henderson 1975-1979
• Sir Reginald Hibbert 1979-1982
• Sir John Fretwell 1982-1987
• Sir Ewen Fergusson 1987-1993
• Sir Christopher Mallaby 1993-1996
• Sir Michael Jay 1996-2001
• Sir John Holmes 2001-

¹Never took office; killed in a duel before setting off. The Earl of Portland William Bentinck (1645-1709), the son of Hendrick Bentinck of Diepenheim, was born in 1645. ... Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (c. ... Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester (c. ... Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury ( 24 July 1660 – 1 February 1718), was the only son of Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury and his second wife, Anne-Marie Brudenell, a daughter of Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan; (she became the notorious mistress of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham... Matthew Prior (July 21, 1664 - September 18, 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. ... John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (July 20, 1673 - May 9, 1747) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat. ... Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton (8 December 1678 - 1757), English diplomatist, was a son of Robert Walpole of Houghton, Norfolk, and a younger brother of the great Sir Robert Walpole. ... James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave KG PC (1684–11 April 1741) was the son of the 1st Baron Waldegrave and Henrietta FitzJames. ... The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). ... This article is about the 1756–1763 war. ... This article is about the 1756–1763 war. ... John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (1710-1771), second son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey, was born on 30 September 1710. ... Francis-Seymour Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (July 5, 1718 – June 14, 1784) was born in Chelsea, England, and died in Surrey, England. ... Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1733 - December 1806), was one of the most remarkable men of the 18th century, being chiefly famous for his advanced views on the question of parliamentary reform. ... William Henry Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford (1717-28 September 1781), was a British diplomatist and statesman. ... Simon Harcourt (1714 - September, 1777), 1st Earl Harcourt, succeeded his grandfather in the title of viscount in 1727. ... David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount Stormont (1727-1796), known before 1793 as Viscount Stormont was a British politician who served as the last Secretary of State for the Northern Department. ... Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, allies British Empire, allies Commanders George Washington Comte de Rochambeau Nathanael Greene William Howe Henry Clinton Charles Cornwallis Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties {{{casualties1}}} {{{casualties2}}} The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was the military side of the American Revolution. ... Thomas Grenville (1755-1846), was a British politician and bibliophile. ... Alleyne Fitzherbert, 1st Baron St Helens (1 March 1753 - 19 February 1839) was a British diplomat and a friend of explorer George Vancouver, who named Mount St. ... The Most Noble George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester PC (April 6, 1737–September 2, 1788) was the son of Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester. ... John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (24 March 1745–19 July 1799) was a keen cricketer, billiards player, tennis player and womaniser. ... The Most Noble Sir George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG PC (January 9, 1758–July 19, 1833) was the son of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford He married Elizabeth Gordon, Countess of Sutherland, daughter of William Gordon, 18th Earl of Sutherland and Mary Maxwell, on... The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (December 31, 1738 – October 5, 1805) was a British general and colonial governor. ... The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... The Most Noble Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ... Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (1773–1846) was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat. ... Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (1773–1846) was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat. ... Henry Wellesley (born Wesley), 1st Baron Cowley, GCB (20 January 1773 - 27 April 1847) was the younger brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right. ... Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (1773–1846) was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat. ... Henry Wellesley (born Wesley), 1st Baron Cowley, GCB (20 January 1773 - 27 April 1847) was the younger brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right. ... Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby (May 15, 1797 - July 28, 1863) was a politician and author of the United Kingdom. ... Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley (17 June 1804-15 July 1884), British diplomatist, was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Cowley (1773-1847), and the former Lady Charlotte Cadogan, daughter of the 1st Earl Cadogan, and was consequently a nephew of the 1st Duke of Wellington and... The Rt Hon. ... Lord Dufferin as a young man Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, PC (June 21, 1826 – February 12, 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. ... Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (4 April 1865 - 4 February 1948) was an English politician around the turn of the 20th century. ... Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (20 June 1858 - 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. ... The Most Honourable Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st and last Marquess of Crewe (12 January 1858 - 20 June 1945) was an English statesman and writer. ... Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet (19 November 1787-23 December 1867), was a British politician. ... Ronald Campbell (born August 14, 1943) is the Labour member of Parliament for Blyth Valley in north-east England. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as... Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (February 22, 1890 - January 1, 1954), known universally as Duff Cooper, was a British diplomat, Cabinet member and acclaimed author. ... Sir Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, First Lord and Baron Gladwyn (April 25, 1900 - October 24, 1996) was a prominent British politician. ... Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames (October 12, 1920-September 16, 1987) was the last Governor of Zimbabwe. ... Nicholas Henderson (1919– ) is a retired British career diplomat and writer. ...