LONDON — Members of Britain's exclusive all-male Garrick Club has reportedly voted to permit women to join the institution for the first time in its 193-year history.
The historic vote comes after the club has been under immense scrutiny over recent weeks following the publication by the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper of some of the elite club's most influential members.
The closely-guarded membership list showed the club to be an emblem of Britain's patriarchal establishment, with the majority of members white and aged over 50.
Notable public figures from the arts, including actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Brian Cox, were also named.
The Garrick Club, named after the 18th-century actor David Garrick, was founded in 1831 as a place where "actors and men of refinement and education might meet on equal terms," according to a statement on the club's website.
Persons:
Garrick, King Charles III, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brian Cox, David Garrick
Organizations:
U.K, Secret Intelligence Service, Garrick
Locations:
London