Wikipedia says 1688-1914. I would argue that brit foreign policy makers weren't ready to pass the baton until 1957 made it obvious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony#15th–19th_centuries

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis#Financial_pressure

Complicating things has always been the aim of foreign policy for about as long as England has been a thing.