Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge, known publicly as Charlotte Owen, is a British political adviser who became the youngest life peer in modern British history when she was nominated to the House of Lords by Boris Johnson in his 2023 resignation honours list. She was 30 at the time of the nomination.
Background
Owen grew up in Cheshire and was educated at the University of Manchester. She worked for Conservative MPs in the late 2010s and joined Boris Johnson's Downing Street team after his 2019 election victory, working in the special-adviser corps in a junior role for most of his premiership.
The peerage
The nomination, announced in June 2023, generated significant comment because of the appointee's age and the relative brevity of her public-policy career. The House of Lords Appointments Commission examined the nomination under its propriety remit and approved it. Owen was introduced to the House on 7 September 2023.
Lords record
In her first year in the House Owen developed a focused legislative profile, particularly on the criminalisation of the creation of so-called deepfake intimate images without consent. Her private member's bill on the issue was reintroduced in the 2024 parliament and she has worked with both Conservative and Labour peers on the cross-party Online Safety Act amendments that followed.
Why people search for her
Owen sits at the intersection of two stories that drive UK political search interest: the perennial debate about the size and composition of the House of Lords, and the long-running public interest in the shape of Boris Johnson's resignation honours. Search interest spiked again in 2025 around her deepfake-imagery legislation, which was the subject of extensive Sunday-paper coverage.
Quick facts
- Title: Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge
- Date of introduction to the House of Lords: 7 September 2023
- Nominating prime minister: Boris Johnson
- Age at appointment: 30
- Principal legislative interest: deepfake intimate-image legislation