A Queen's Counsel (post-nominal QC), or King's Counsel (post-nominal KC) during the reign of a king, is an eminent lawyer (usually a barrister or advocate) who is appointed by the monarch to be one of "Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the law." The term is recognized as an honorific. Appointments are made from within the legal profession based on merit rather than a particular level of experience. Members have the privilege of sitting within the bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), appointment as Queen's Counsel is known informally as taking silk, and hence QCs are often colloquially called silks.

The rank emerged in the sixteenth century but came to prominence over the course of the nineteenth. An appointment was open to barristers only until 1995. The first women KCs had been appointed only in 1949. In 1951, 16 people were appointed, all of them men.

1951

3 April 1951 NameInns of CourtUniversityNotesRefSir Alan Edward Ellis, KCBInner Temple and Lincoln's Inn (1920)Brasenose College, OxfordBorn in 1890, Ellis attended the independent Cheltenham College before university. After being called to the bar, he practiced in the Chancery Division until 1930, when he was appointed to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. There, he drafted a range of important legislation including the Parliament Act 1949. In 1947, he was appointed First Parliamentary Counsel. He served in that office until 1953, when he became chairman of the Statute Law Committee and a Church Commissioner. In 1955, he was appointed Counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons. A bencher of the Inner Temple, he was appointed KCB in 1948. He died unmarried in 1960. "Sir Alan Ellis", The Times (London), 30 August 1960, p. 15.Bentley Herbert Waddy, MCInner Temple (1920)Worcester College, OxfordWaddy was born in 1893 and was schooled at Cheltenham College, a private school, before university. He served in the First World War, receiving the MC. After being called to the bar, he practiced on the South-Eastern Circuit. He was Recorder of Margate (1944–53) and Master of the Worshipful Company of Curriers for the 1941–42 year. He died in 1956, having married twice; his second wife and an adopted daughter survived him."Mr. B. H. Waddy." Times, 5 Nov. 1956, p. 12.David WeitzmanGray's Inn (1922)University of ManchesterBorn in Blackburn in 1898, Weitzman attended Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow and the Manchester Central School, before enrolling at the University of Manchester. From 1916, he served in the First World War. Returning to university on demobilization, he graduated in 1921. After being called to the bar, he practiced on the Northern Circuit. In the 1935 general election, he unsuccessfully contested Stoke Newington for Labour; in 1945, he fought for the seat again and won it. In 1947, he was imprisoned for "contravening orders for the control and limitation of manufacture and supply of toilet preparations" in a much-publicized case known as the "lipstick affair". The conviction was overturned on appeal. He retained his seat (reformed as Hackney North and Stoke Newington from 1950) and sat on Labour's backbenches until he retired from Parliament in 1979. He died in 1987, his first two wives predeceasing him; he was survived by his third wife and several children." Mr. David Weitzman." Times, 8 May 1987, p. 16.For details of the lipstick case, see Donald Thomas, The Enemy Within Hucksters, Racketeers, Deserters, and Civilians During the Second World War (New York, NY: New York University Press), p. 372.Sir Walker Kelly CarterInner Temple (1924)Sidney Sussex College, CambridgeBorn in 1899, Carter was educated privately. He served in the Royal Field Artillery from 1918 to 1919. His legal career commenced in 1924 and he served as Chairman of the Quarter Sessions for Lindsey from 1945 to 1967 and Kesteven between 1961 and 1967 (both being Parts of Lincolnshire). He chaired the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (1964–75). Knighted in 1965, he died in 1985, leaving a daughter; his wife had died the previous year."His Honour Sir Walker Carter." Times, 10 Apr. 1985, p. 12.The London Gazette, 19 February 1965 (issue 43580), p. 1759.Ifor Bowen LloydInner Temple