Regency History
Often in my research I keep needing to find who was leading the government and do this through every book. I thought that having the list handy would be good, and then turning it into a research webpage even better. Here is the list. After I post a few more Timeline years and write some more, I will work on the web page with notes about each PM.
The next PM I am doing is Arthur Wellesley, and I am hosting a page devoted to him and then all our period PMs at Regency Assembly Press. That page is here.
Prime Ministers of England
| William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
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04/02/1783
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12/19/1783
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Whig
|
| William Pitt the Younger
|
12/19/1783
|
03/14/1801
|
Tory
|
| Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth, “The Doctor”
|
03/14/1801
|
05/10/1804
|
Tory
|
| William Pitt the Younger
|
05/10/1804
|
01/23/1806
|
Tory
|
| William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
|
02/11/1806
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03/31/1807
|
Whig
|
| William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
|
03/31/1807
|
10/04/1809
|
Tory*
|
| Spencer Perceval
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10/04/1809
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05/11/1812
|
Tory
|
| Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
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06/08/1812
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04/09/1827
|
Tory
|
| George Canning
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04/10/1827
|
08/08/1827
|
Tory
|
| Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
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08/31/1827
|
01/21/1828
|
Tory
|
| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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01/22/1828
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11/16/1830
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Tory
|
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
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11/22/1830
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07/16/1834
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Whig
|
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
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07/16/1834
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11/14/1834
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Whig
|
| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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11/14/1834
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12/10/1834
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Tory
|
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet
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12/10/1834
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04/18/1835
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Conservative
|
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
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04/18/1835
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08/30/1841
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Whig
|
Tory* (Tory government, PM a Whig)
|
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,
“The Iron Duke”, “The Beau”, “The Peer”, “Beau Douro” “and “Beaky“
Born 05/01/1769 Dublin, Ireland
Died 09/14/1852 Walmer Castle, Kent
Major Acts:
Roman Catholic Relief Act-removed many of the restrictions on Catholics in the UK
The Duke of Wellington is today more famous as a soldier than as a politician. In fact, as the Prime Minister, he was known for his measures to repress reform, and his popularity sank a little during his time in office.
But he did succeed in passing the Catholic Emancipation Bill – something which caused the downfall of many earlier prime ministers – and he remains one of the best-known figures of British history.
Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin to the Earl and Countess of Mornington.
Fatherless at an early age, and neglected by his mother, he was a reserved, withdrawn child. He failed to shine at Eton, and instead attended private classes in Brussels, followed by a military school in Angers.
Ironically, the young Wellesley had no desire for a military career. Instead he wished to pursue his love of music. Following his mother’s wishes, however, he joined a Highland regiment.
Wellesley fought at Flanders in 1794, (Age 25) and directed the campaign in India in 1796, (Age 27) where his elder brother was Governor General. Knighted for his efforts, he returned to England in 1805.
The following year he was elected Member of Parliament for Rye, and within a year was appointed Chief Secretary of Ireland by the Duke of Portland. He continued with his military career despite his parliamentary duties, fighting campaigns in Portugal and France, and being made commander of the British Army in the Peninsular War.
He was given the title Duke of Wellington in 1814, and went on to command his most celebrated campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars, with final victory at Waterloo in 1815.
On returning to Britain, Wellington was feted as a hero, formally honoured, and presented with both an estate in Hampshire and a fortune of £400,000.
After the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington became Commander in Chief of the army in occupied France until November 1818.
He later returned to England and Parliament, and joined Lord Liverpool’s government in 1819 as Master-General of the Ordnance. He undertook a number of diplomatic visits overseas, including a trip to Russia.
Heading for Parliament
In 1828, after twice being overlooked in favour of Canning and Goderich,
Wellington was finally invited by King George IV to form his own government and set about forming his Cabinet.
As prime minister, Wellington was very conservative, yet one of his first achievements was overseeing Catholic emancipation in 1829, the granting of almost full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom.
Feelings ran very high on the issue. Wellington persuaded the King only by his threat of resignation. Lord Winchilsea, an opponent of the bill, claimed that by granting freedoms to Catholics Wellington “treacherously plotted the destruction of the Protestant constitution”.
As a result, Wellington and Winchilsea fought a duel in Battersea Park in March 1829. The two deliberately missed each other in firing, and honour was satisfied.
Wellington had a much less enlightened position on parliamentary reform. He defended rule by the elite and refused to expand the political franchise.
His fear of mob rule was strengthened by the riots and sabotage that followed rising rural unemployment. His opposition to reform caused his popularity to plummet to such an extent that crowds gathered to throw missiles at his London home.
Specifically his visit to the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway(see my article-ed) in September of 1830 where the death of Husskisson ensued, and then his refusal to attend the man’s funeral led to the fall of his government.
The Government was defeated in the Commons, and Wellington resigned, to be replaced by Earl Grey. Wellington continued to fight reform in opposition, though he finally consented to the Great Reform Bill in 1832.
Two years later he refused a second invitation to form a government, and instead joined Peel’s ministry as Foreign Secretary. He later became Leader of the House of Lords, and upon Peel’s resignation in 1846, retired from politics.
Marshalling the troops
But in 1848 he organised a military force to protect London against possible Chartist violence at the large meeting at Kennington Common.
‘The Iron Duke’ died in September 1852 after a series of seizures. After lying in state in London, he was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
The Wellington Arch still stands in London’s Hyde Park. He also gave his name to the humble Wellington boot. And of course we have Been Wellington to remember him by as well.
First Ministry
01/22/1828 11/16/1830
Office
|
Name
|
Term
|
First Lord of the Treasury
Leader of the House of Lords
|
The Duke of Wellington
|
January 1828 – November 1830
|
Lord Chancellor
|
The Lord Lyndhust
|
January 1828 – November 1830
|
Lord President of the Council
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The Earl Bathurst
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January 1828 – November 1830
|
Lord Privy Seal
|
The Lord Ellenborough
The Earl of Rosslyn
|
January 1828 – June 1829
June1829 – November 1830
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
Henry Goulburn
|
January 1828 – November 1830
|
Home Secretary
Leader of the House of Commons
|
Robert Peel
|
January 1828 – November 1830
|
Foreign Secretary
|
The Earl of Dudley
The Earl of Aberdeen
|
January 1828 – June 1828
June 1828 – November 1830
|
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
|
William Huskisson
Sir George Murray
|
January 1828 – May 1828
May 1828 – November 18
|
First Lord of the Admiralty
|
The Viscount Melville
|
September 1828 – November 1830
|
Master-General of the Ordnance
|
Marquess of Anglesey
The Viscount Beresford
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January 1828 – April 1828
April 1828 – November 1830
|
President of the Board of Trade
|
Charles Grant
William Vesey-Fitzgerald
John Charles Herries
|
January 1828 – June 1828
June 1828 – February 1830
February 1830 – November 1830
|
President of the Board of Control
|
Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn
The Viscount Melville
The Lord Ellenborough
|
January 1828 – July 1828
July 1828 – September 1828
September 1828 – November 1830
|
Master of the Mint
|
John Charles Herries
|
January 1828 – November 1830
|
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
|
The Earl of Aberdeen
Charles Arbuthnot
|
January 1828 – June 1828
June 1828 – November 1830
|
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
|
Charles Arbuthnot
Viscount Lowther
|
February 1828 – June 1828
June 1828 – November 1830
|
Paymaster of the Forces
|
William Vesey-Fitzgerald
John Calcraft
|
January 1828 – July 1828
July 1828 – November 1830
|
Secretary at War
|
Viscount Palmerston
Sir Henry Hardinge
Lord Francis Leveson-Gower
|
January 1828 – May 1828
May 1828 – July 1830
July 1830 – November 1830
|
Second Ministry
11/14/1834 12/10/1834
Office
|
Name
|
Date
|
Prime Minister
Secretary of State for the Home Department
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
Leader of the House of Lords
|
The Duke of Wellington
|
17 November 1834 – 9 December 1834
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
The Lord Denman
|
15 November 1834-9 December
|
Lord Chancellor
|
The Lord Lyndhurst
|
21 November 1834-9 December
|
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
|
The Duke of Wellington
The Earl of Rosslyn
The Lord Ellenborough
Lord Maryborough
Sir John Beckett
Joseph Planta
|
21 November 1834-9 December
|
Family
Arthur and Kitty had two sons and adopted 4 children. (See below for more on Kitty)
After his first Cabinet meeting as PM; “An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them.”
Catherine Sarah Dorothea “Kitty” Pakenham, the sister of one of his generals, Edward Pakenham. who died leading such famous units as the 95th Rifles (Sharp!) and 93rd Highlanders at the Battle of New Orleans in the American war of 1812 which was over by the time the battle had been fought in 1815, but because of communications then, they had not gotten the word.
Wellesley and Kitty might have been hot and heavy at first, but he was turned away when he did not have any prospects and she found another to love. Who, when he found that Wellesley was still interested bowed out. When Kitty and Wellesley did marry, their marriage was not one of love on his side. Though, Kitty did love the Duke. She died in 1831
GIVEAWAY
Do you know about our Giveaway this week? If you answer in the comments there, that you have an idea, or just comment (not just a HI, but which research track you like and why) I am giving away an eBook in your favorite format, ePub, Mobi, or PDF, etc. You can choose from 
The End of the World, 
The Shattered Mirror, 
Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Correspondence, or the one I think you will enjoy the most, 
Jane Austen and Ghosts. (And if you want to ready the 
Trolling books instead, just mention that.
The giveaway will last through Sunday the 8th, at which time I will pick a winner and announce your feedback and what it all means for future posting, as well as the winner on the following Monday.
And then,
Are you A RAPper or a RAPscallion?
The Writing Life
My current writing project, a Fantasy, the third part of my trilogy on the son of Duke. It is the third in what I started when I left college. I finished the second part about 2 years ago, and so now I will wrap it up and reedit it all. It is tentatively titles, Crown in Jeopardy, the third book in the Born to Grace tale.
It opens with our hero setting up a trap for the enemies.
Chapter 1: Bait (to the end)
“Caradoc, everyone is here.” Jamus said from outside the tent. Or at least the small portion of the tent where he rested. Enough room for his cot, and to swing his legs over the side of it.
Coming. His feet had been back in his boots since he had cooled them down with the water to wash them. He hoisted himself from the cot and getting his legs firmly under him, not instantly for he carried nearly two hundred pounds of armor, he then grabbed his sword and strode out of the tent.
His bodyguard awaited him and the commanders of all the troops were there as well. William and most of the Magus were to one side. William turned to Francis, his closest associate. “No enemies, or spies still, my lord.”
That had been a concern, since they had left the column of Northmarch, that their subterfuge would be found out. It still had not, so that was a blessing of Aer. “Now is the time to speak if you have questions. We think that tomorrow, first light, I should guess, will be when this is resolved.”
The other commanders nodded. No one should have a question. They had talked it through for days. And if what was to come did, it would be how they would proceed as well. The best time to attack a camp is at first light. Men are awake and want to piss, or want to eat and rub the sleep from their eyes. Start a fire and get something hot in them. Then there would be enough light, if you were an attacker, to see where your enemy was. Attack in the night, and you had to hope for a moon to see by.
William and the Magus had made sure that at night, it was as dark as if there had been no moon, no stars, and no torches to guide a man, each night. Cynwal’s commanders would have told him that it would be impossible to attack under such circumstances, and Pincus relayed that they had done so on one evening.
“Then to your beds and sleep and rest this night. Tomorrow we are sure to fight. Get your meals tonight as well, for there will likely be no food in the morning. William, the magus will have to be ready to deflect an archery attack, and General Frederick, the scouts, be sure that they do not get caught when the enemy attack. For as we would, the enemy would surely try to sneak upon them and cut their throats. They are not sacrifices and should they be wary, they should survive and can fight during the attack.” That was one of the most worrisome parts of the entire operation.
If he were going to attack a war camp, then he would send men to kill the sentries. That would mask the approach. Here the sentries knew that was something that might happen and the Magus were going to do their best to see that the sentries were not taken unawares. Also, Cynwal was certain that he outnumbered Caradoc’s force near five times. He would be pleased at the advantage that surprise gave him in attack, but it was not so needed.
Superiority of numbers would go a long way towards ensuring victory. That was always an advantage that a commander wished for. Again, Caradoc thought, it disvalued the worth of a man. When one thought in terms that having more men in your command than the enemy, and somehow that greater number meant that you would inflict more death and less would be caused to your own side, may have been a blessing for you, but it also meant that you just regarded your men as so many numbers. Did you care then about how happy there were in their marriage, or that they had a new born daughter? That there parents had been married thirty years? None of that mattered except that you had twice or more times the men to hand as your enemy did.
Caradoc hated this job more then he liked it. He was a well paid murderer. That had become the task of the lords of the land. Not overseeing their people in peace and battling a truer enemy, the weather. One less predictable than a man.
Caradoc shook his head and sent the men away. He might have thought to proceed about the camp and see how all were doing. Instead, he listened to reports to ensure that all were ready. He got his own hot meal and then once more, lay down on his cot. At least in the midst of his army, he did not have to stand a watch. He would be woken early though. He was to inspect the came and sure that the moments before dawn, when it was hoped they lured Cynwal to them, that the camp was perceived to hold only twelve hundred men.
When he had woken, relaxed he found from his sleep, he was joined by the Magus Francis. William was sleeping as much as he could. “We have cast our spells and done all we can think to confuse the enemy.”
“And they have given no indication that they have sussed us out. They think all is as it should be with twelve hundred men having invaded their country. We have done well. You the Magus, have done well.”
“Thank you lord. The ArchMagus has said you have always been generous with your praise, but that it is also well earned.” Francis said.
Caradoc smiled, “I hope so. I hope that is what is said of me. I think it, of course, but you are never sure that is what is said about you. Now, are you all rested. Much of our success when we are engaged will have those of us without magic relying on you with the power.”
“We are rested. Near every magus in the north that was with the Army is here with us. Lady Miriam and only two others remain with Prince Edward.”
Caradoc was aware of that as well. He knew the plan, and he knew where the players he had control of were. His side of the board. And with the aid of the spies of the Atorane who were a part of Cynwal’s army, he knew more about the enemy then hey did of him, he hoped.
“There is one of you maintaining the spell now?” They had an illusion cast about all of the camp, and they knew that it worked as what one saw from outside the camp was much different than what was inside the camp. And what one was able to have followed by watching the patrols that Caradoc had sent out as well.
“Two my lord. As we have gotten closer to when you think the attack will come, we have had much more work to do.”
“Show me.” Caradoc instructed. It was needful as he had to know where the efforts of the Magus were being utilized. He and his commanders needed to prepare for where they suspected the enemy would attack, and where he wanted his men to respond. They had a small wall erected about the camp. Since Landing, armies had made war camps with temporary defenses, and then there had been kingdoms that did not. Those kingdoms who did, seemed to have lasted longer than those that did not.
Northmarch was a kingdom that did erect such walls. But 1200 men did not make the walls as if they were full regiments. They were a raiding force. At least the illusion was such that they had weak points in their walls.
It did not take long for Francis to walk him through the camp and show him where the Magus were stationed, or anticipated that they would need to work their magic. After he had finished with Francis, then it was a chance to walk with Avram and Frederick. Both of whom were then awake. Both of whom had been leaders for far longer than he, but it had been Caradoc’s plan to travel north, and they had been deferential to him since Larsent Bridge.
“We are ready. You spend a great deal of time agonizing over whether we are ready before every battle.” Avram said.
“It is time for you to go back to the Atorane and start your family, or to show them that you are your own man and take a wife with you from here. I think perhaps as good as you are, you may need some new blood amongst you.” Caradoc teased, but there was some truth there. The Atorane was almost entirely comprised of the Hovite religion. They needed blood from elsewhere in the world. Just as the clans married amongst other clans, the Hovites did not need to trade their identity away, but they needed more genes in the mix. That was well thought amongst the tenets of the Captain. No marriage closer than that of a second cousin. And no community with fewer than 100 patriarchs.
“You comment on whether I do not worry enough? I worry, yet once I am sure that a thing is correct and well attended to, I put it from my mind. The men who have that responsibility will take care of it. As to my taking a wife with me back to the Atorane, I have thought that perhaps I might. There is a lady amongst the woman of Princess Sarah I think quite catching. She has been after me since we all returned to Luckston. I think you know her as well.”
Lady ### had been a lover of Caradoc’s once. But when he had returned to Luckston and Clarisse, he had not looked at the girl. She had looked to Caradoc a few times and that had been uncomfortable. But he kept his distance. Not because he was afraid of what Clarisse would do to him knowing that he had a former lover about. Because he was worried what Clarisse would do to the girl.
Clarisse said she bore no grudges, but that would not be the entire truth. Clarisse was a hellion when wronged. “I wish you well of that, my friend. She, I think, would shake things up in the Atorane. And then, you will have a very beautiful wife also. I can see her, the wife of a Medbar of the Atorane and a respected general. She will make quite an impression on Hovite society.”
Avram laughed. “You thought I was joking. Caradoc, I am serious. I have thought to wed her and take her to our homeland for just that reason. We need new perspective and most women of court would be overwhelmed by the Hovite woman back in the Atorane. Lady #### won’t.”
Well Caradoc could agree with that. She would not be shunted aside, but would be in the forefront of any decision or event. As the wife of Avram and the mother of his sons, she would be right in the middle of things, just as he would when he did return to the country.
“I have to marry her in any event. It would not be decent to let things proceed without doing so. Your Aer would think me churlish.” Alain laughed from where he walked.
“Oh, don’t mind me. Valens will take care of any child, whether a father claims him or not. But to have begotten a child on a lady of the court, and related to the king of Falchon. You, general just can not stop playing with hot water.”
Caradoc would have laughed but Francis stiffened. “They come! Less than ten minutes.”
That was all the leaders needed and they all began to hurry away quietly sounding the alarm, as the other Magus did as well. They would be ready much sooner than the ten minutes. Caradoc just mouthed as he went to mount his horse. “It begins. The end is now started.”
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