Andrew C. Thompson is an Official Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Queens' College, Cambridge, and a co-editor of History & Policy's No. 10 guest historians' series on the GOV.UK website. He is interested in politics, international relations, and religion in Britain and Europe in the long eighteenth century. His most recent book is George II: King and Elector (Yale University Press, 2011).
Modern technology means that today’s politicians remain contactable, even when on holiday. Constant access to digital communications can be a mixed blessing but, in the event of a crisis, the public can rest assured that holidays can be interrupted and …