Whitehall pictured in 2012, with The Cenotaph and Monument to the Women of World War II in the middle of the street, and the clock tower housing Big Ben in the background.

Whitehall is a road in the City of Westminster, in central London, which forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square. Recognised as the centre of Her Majesty's Government, the street is lined with government departments and ministries; the name "Whitehall" is thus also frequently used as a metonym for overall British governmental administration, as well as being a geographic name for the surrounding area.

The name is taken from the vast Palace of Whitehall that used to occupy the area but which was largely destroyed by fire in 1698. Whitehall was originally a wide road that led to the front of the palace. Trafalgar Square was built at its northern extremity in the early 19th century. The southernmost portion by Parliament Square is named Parliament Street, but aside from a street name sign there is no longer any obvious distinction between the two on the ground. Combined, the streets cover a total distance of about 0.6 mile (1 km).

Whitehall is also widely known for a number of memorial statues and monuments, including Britain's primary war memorial The Cenotaph.

History[link]

Whitehall, looking south in 1740: Inigo Jones' Banqueting House (1622) on the left, William Kent's Treasury buildings (1733-37) on the right, the Holbein Gate (1532, demolished 1759) at centre.

Parliament Street was a small side-road alongside the Palace of Whitehall which led to the Palace of Westminster. When the Palace of Whitehall was demolished, Parliament Street was widened to match Whitehall's width. The present appearance of the street is largely the result of 19th-century redevelopment.

Banqueting House, built in 1622 by Inigo Jones, is the only surviving portion of the former palace. Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649 on a scaffold erected outside the building, stepping onto it from a first-floor window. Royalists commemorate the regicide annually on the anniversary of the execution.

The name "Whitehall" is often used as a metonym to refer that part of the civil service which is involved in the government of the United Kingdom, similar to the use of "Kremlin" to refer to the Russian government or "White House" for the executive branch of the United States government.

The central portion of the street is dominated by military buildings, including the Ministry of Defence, with the former headquarters of the British Army and Royal Navy, the Royal United Services Institute, the Horse Guards building and the Admiralty, on the opposite side.

Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police Service, was originally located in Great Scotland Yard off the north-eastern end Whitehall, but was relocated to New Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment in 1890.

Downing Street leads off the south-west end of Whitehall, just above Parliament Street. It is closed to the public at both ends by security gates erected in 1989.^[1] These have since been supplemented by a further gated barrier around 3 m outside the main gates.

Additional security measures have been put in place along Whitehall for the protection of the government buildings that line the street. This is partly due to a £25 million streetscape project undertaken by Westminster City Council and approved months before the 7 July 2005 London bombings.^[2] The project has provided wider pavements, better lighting and hundreds of concrete and steel security barriers.

Memorials[link]

The Cenotaph, Britain's primary war memorial, is situated in the centre of Whitehall and is the site of the annual ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday.

In 2005 a national Monument to the Women of World War II was erected a short distance north of the Cenotaph in the middle of the Whitehall carriageway.

The road is also home to several other monuments:

• Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904): Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, 1856-1895
• Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833-1908): Leader of the Liberal Party, 1875–1880; of the Liberal Unionist Party, 1886–1903; and of the Unionists (1902-1903)
• Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928): Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France, 1915 to 1918 (known as the Earl Haig Memorial)
• William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (1891-1970): Commander of the 14th Army, 1943-1945; and Governor-General of Australia, 1953-1959
• Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke (1883-1963): Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1941-1946
• Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887-1976): Commander of the 8th Army, 1942-1943, and of the 21st Army Group, 1943-1945; Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1946-1948

• 

  The Cenotaph

• 

  Women of World War II

• 

  Prince George, Duke of Cambridge

• 

  Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire

• 

  Earl Haig Memorial

• 

  Viscount Slim

• 

  Viscount Alanbrooke

• 

  Viscount "Monty" of Alamein

Government buildings[link]

Map of Whitehall and surrounding streets

Government buildings on Whitehall, from north to south, include:

• Admiralty
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Old War Office
• Office of the Parliamentary Counsel
• Horse Guards
• Ministry of Defence
• Scotland Office (Dover House)
• Wales Office (Gwydyr House)
• Cabinet Office
• Downing Street
• Department of Health
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Government Offices Great George Street, housing HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs and parts of the Cabinet Office

See also[link]

• Whitehall Study
• 10 Downing Street

Gallery[link]

• 

  Busy street traffic on Whitehall, pictured from Trafalgar Square

• 

  Looking south down Whitehall towards Victoria Tower of the Palace of Westminster

• 

  A taxi passing between two of Whitehall's famous memorials

• 

  Old War Office

• 

  Government Offices Great George Street, Parliament Street

• 

  Trafalgar Studios, formerly the Whitehall Theatre

• 

  In 1799 many of the sites now occupied by large government buildings were covered with terraced houses

• 

  Horse Guards from Whitehall, 1836

Bibliography[link]

• Whitehall Through The Centuries by George S Dugdale (Assistant at the London Museum) with black and white reproductions and plans. A foreword by Sir Edward Bridges^[3]
• Brown, Colin (2009) Whitehall: The Street that Shaped a Nation Simon & Schuster Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84737-077-8

External links[link]

• Aerial photo and map
• Whitehall in 1669, showing the Banqueting House and Holbein Gateway
• History of the Whitehall Theatre built on Whitehall in 1930

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Whitehall

Coordinates: 51°30′15″N 0°07′35″W / 51.50417°N 0.12639°W / 51.50417; -0.12639

Robert Pattinson
Pattinson at the premiere of Water for Elephants in 2011.
Born	Robert Thomas Pattinson (1986-05-13) 13 May 1986 (age 26) London, England , UK
Other names	Rob, R-Pattz,[1] Spunk Ransom[2] (nicknames)
Occupation	Actor, model, musician, producer
Years active	2004–present
Relatives	Lizzy Pattinson (sister)
Signature

Robert Thomas Pattinson^[3] (born 13 May 1986)^[4] is an English actor, model, musician, and producer.^[5] Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.^[6] Later, he landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide fame,^[7][8] thus establishing himself among the highest paid and most bankable actors in Hollywood.^[9][10][11] In 2010, Pattinson was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, and also in the same year Forbes ranked him as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world in the Forbes Celebrity 100.^[12][13]

Early life[link]

Pattinson was born in London, England. His mother, Clare, worked for a modelling agency, and his father, Richard, imported vintage cars from the U.S.^[14] Pattinson has two elder sisters, singer Lizzy Pattinson, and Victoria Pattinson.^[15][16] Growing up in the Barnes suburb of London,^[17] he attended Tower House School until he was 12, and then The Harrodian School.^[18][19] He became involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Company. He auditioned and was cast in a small role in Guys and Dolls. He next auditioned for Thornton Wilder's Our Town and was cast as George Gibbs. He also played in Anything Goes and Macbeth.^[20] He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and began looking for professional roles.

Career[link]

Modelling[link]

Pattinson began modelling when he was twelve years old, but the number of jobs began to decrease only four years later. In December 2008 he blamed the lack of work as a model on his masculine appearance: "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career."^[21] Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.^[22]

Acting[link]

Early career[link]

Pattinson had supporting roles in the made for television film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004 and in director Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, although his scenes in the latter were deleted and only appear on the DVD version.^[23] In May 2005, he was slated to appear in the UK premiere of The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley.^[24] Later that year he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. For this role he was named that year's British Star of Tomorrow by The Times^[25] and had more than once been touted as the next Jude Law.^[19][26][27]

2008-present[link]

In 2008 Pattinson landed the coveted role of Edward Cullen in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character.^[28] The film was released on November 21, 2008 and turned Pattinson into an instant overnight moviestar.^[29] Though the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his and co-star Kristen Stewart's chemisty in the film.^[30] The New York Times called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor^[31] and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said he was "well-chosen" for the role.^[32]

After Twilight Pattinson starred in the independent films Little Ashes (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), How to Be (a British comedy), andThe Summer House.

He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon which was released on November 20, 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 opening weekend and an overall run of $709,827,462 worldwide.^[33] Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said Pattinson was still "interesting to watch" despite the bad makeup.^[34] Bill GoodyKoontz from the Arizona Republic said, "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around"^[35] and Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post noted that his acting was "uniformly strong".^[36]

Pattinson at the 2009 Academy Awards

In 2009 Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards.^[37] On November 10, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity.^[38]

On May 13, 2010, Pattinson appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on May 18, The Ellen DeGeneres Show for his film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.^[39] He attended the official worldwide red carpet premiere for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on June 24, 2010, at the Los Angeles Nokia Theatre^[40] and the film was released on June 30, 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide.^[41][42]

In 2010, Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film Remember Me, which was released on March 12, 2010.^[43]

In 2011, he starred as Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon.^[44] The film received mixed reviews but Pattinson's performance was praised. Film critic Richard Corliss from Time praised Pattinson for being "shy and watchful" and said he "radiates a slow magnetism that locks the viewer’s eyes on him", ultimately calling him "star quality".^[45] Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and was "endlessly watchable".^[46] Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone said he "smolders" in the film^[47] and Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Pattinson is entirely convincing as Jacob".^[48]

Pattinson reappeared as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, which was released on November 18, 2011, and earned $705,058,657 at the box office.^[49]

He played Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel Bel Ami, with Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film had a world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival^[50] and was released on February 12, 2012.^[51]

Pattinson will be starring in the upcoming film adaptation of Don Delillo's Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg in 2012.^[52] The film has been selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.^[53][54]

In May 2012, Pattinson was cast alongside Guy Pierce to star in David Michod's The Rover.^[55] He was also cast to star in the psychological thriller, Mission: Blacklist (film), based on the novel of the same name by military interrogator, Eric Maddox.^[56]

Music[link]

Pattinson plays guitar and piano, and composes his own music.^[57] He also appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley,^[58] and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long.^[59] The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there."^[5] The soundtrack for the film How to Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson^[60] and written by composer Joe Hastings.^[61]

Aside from recording for the soundtracks, Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything – I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails."^[5] In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the 'Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians' award.

In the media[link]

Pattinson after The Twilight Saga: New Moon photo call at Crillon Hotel in 2009

Pattinson was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009 by People magazine.^[62][63] In 2009, he was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour.^[64] Ask Men named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009.^[65] In 2009, Vanity Fair named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world.^[66]

He was named one of Vanity Fair's "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.^[9][67]

In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity.^[68] He also volunteered for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief in January 2010.^[69]

GQ and Glamour both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with GQ stating, "Extremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man."^[70][71] In 2010, People also listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue.^[72]

In 2010, Pattinson politely turned down a $2 million fashion campaign with Burberry.^[73]

Britain's The Sunday Times "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million.^[74] Time magazine named him as one of 2010's 100 Most Influential People in The World.^[12] In June 2010, Pattinson was named by Forbes magazine the No.50 most powerful celebrity in the world with earnings $17 million.^[13] Due to Pattinson's rising fame, a wax statue of him was added to the Madame Tussauds collection in London and New York City.^[75] On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor.^[76]

In 2011, Pattinson was No. 15 on Vanity Fair's "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010.^[77] GQ once again named Pattinson the "Best Dressed Man" of 2012.^[78]

Personal life[link]

Since meeting on the set of Twilight, Pattinson has been romantically linked to co-star Kristen Stewart.^[79] Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage.^[80]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robert Pattinson

• Media related to Robert Pattinson at Wikimedia Commons
• Robert Pattinson at the Internet Movie Database