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| Prime Ministers of George IV Left to right: Lord Liverpool, George Canning, Viscount Goderich, Duke of Wellington (2) |
As Prince of Wales, George IV was a strong supporter of the Whig party and had many friends amongst their ranks including Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Fox’s support of the French Revolution forced the Prince to distance himself from the Whigs and after Fox’s death in 1806, George’s loyalty to the Whig cause disappeared completely.
By the time he was made Regent in 1811, George was happy to keep his father’s Tory Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval. When he became King, the situation did not change. George IV had four Prime Ministers during his ten-year reign—all Tories.
Find my guide to the Prime Ministers of George III here and William IV here.
Prime Ministers during the Regency (1811-1820)
Spencer Perceval
Tory – 1809-1812
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| Spencer Perceval, from The Life and Administration of the Right Hon Spencer Perceval by Charles Williams (1813) |
Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool
Tory – 1812-1827
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| Lord Liverpool, from the European Magazine and London Review (1818) |
Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool
Tory – 1812-1827
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| Lord Liverpool (details as above) |
Tory – 1827
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| George Canning from The Creevey Papers by Thomas Creevey (1912) |
Tory – 1827-8
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| Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, by Sir Thomas Lawrence oil on canvas (c1824) © NPG 4875 (1) |
Tory – 1828-30
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| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by Robert Home oil on canvas (1804) © NPG 1471 (1) |
(1) These pictures are © National Portrait Gallery and are displayed under a Creative Commons licence.
(2) Source details of pictures in collage: Lord Liverpool, from the European Magazine and London Review (1818); George Canning and Viscount Goderich from The Georgian Era by Clarke (1832); Duke of Wellington from Life of the Field Marshal, his Grace the Duke of Wellington by James Edward Alexander (1840).
Sources used include:
Government website - past Prime Ministers
National Portrait Gallery website
As always, thank you for this research. I have learned so much of British history, and, I can relate how your past intersects with my US history. We are indeed a small world.
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