Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

I bumped into Lord (William) Waldegrave last night. The former Conservative Cabinet minister who is now the Provost of Eton. So, I asked, had he given the boys at Eton a full day holiday when David Cameron became prime minister? This is something I discussed on my blog last May, and is always the tradition at the college when an old Etonian becomes PM.

Waldegrave admitted he had been badgered by some of the boys to do this, and indeed one or two of the better-informed boys reminded him that the college had been given a holiday when he, Waldegrave, was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, many years ago. Surely becoming prime minister is even more prestigious than that, the boys argued.

But no, Eton boys went without their holiday this time, abandoning a tradition which was applied, it said, on the election of all 18 previous Etonian prime ministers.

Waldegrave is a canny political operator and must have known that the sight of Etonians celebrating Mr Cameron's election would have done the new PM no good at all.

However, Waldegrave says he did suggest to his opposite number at Westminster, Nick Clegg's old school, that they should have a holiday.

Not a full day holiday though, just a half day.