Who will be Eton’s next Provost?

So. Farewell then. William Waldegrave. After fifteen years, the great panjandrum is retiring next year as Provost of Eton College in a move that The Spectator first predicted in May. In a letter sent to Old Etonians, Waldegrave declared that ‘the school is in very good health, and very well led by [Head Master] Simon Henderson and the leadership team’ – a claim with which, er, not all OEs would agree. Indeed, judging by some of the press coverage of Henderson’s tenure, Steerpike can’t help wondering if he too will be depart shortly…

There is a delicious irony to this of course. Waldegrave’s post is a royal appointment which means that the name the Fellows recommend will go up to the King from 10 Downing Street. This technically means the new Provost will be chosen for the first time by a Wykehamist. Given the traditional rivalry between Winchester and Eton, will Rishi Sunak be able to resist a chance for a bit of mischief-making? Harold Macmillan was famously interested in the role and would dearly have loved to become the first PM to hold the role of Provost.