George Grenville 1763-5 Whig

Born: 14 October 1712 in Westminster, London

First entered Parliament: 4 May 1741

Age he became PM: 50 years, 184 days

Maiden¹ speech: 21 January 1742 in the debate criticising Walpole's conduct of the war with Spain

Total time as PM: Two years, 85 days

Died: 13 November 1770 in Bolton St., London

Facts and figures

Nickname: "Gentle Shepherd" arising from his speech on the cider tax in 1763 in which he repeatedly asked where else a tax could be laid. Opposition² MPs began to sing the hymn³, "Gentle Shepherd, Tell Me Where"

Education: Eton and Christ Church, Oxford⁴

Family: Grenville was the second son of seven children. He was married to Elizabeth Wyndham, and had four sons and five daughters

Biography

Political pedigree

George Grenville had a perfect PM pedigree, being descended⁵ from a political family.

Despite his background, though, Grenville was not a success, since he was disliked by King George III. He had to govern under the widespread perception that the King was still listening more to the advice of Grenville's predecessor⁶, the Earl of Bute.

He was also handicapped at first by the difficulty of having George III intervene in Parliamentary affairs. Eventually he delivered the King an ultimatum⁷ which secured him greater independence in his role.

His premiership was full of problems. His prosecution⁹ of MP John Wilkes for seditious libel against the King and Bute made him unpopular - Grenville was seen as a threat to the liberty of the people and the press.

He attempted to regain¹⁰ favour by lowering domestic taxes at the expense of the colonies, introducing the Stamp Act in 1765. The laws gave rise to widespread protests in America that eventually boiled over into the War for Independence.

Riotous¹¹ times

There was also a riot by English weavers¹² protesting against imported silk, for which George III blamed Grenvillle.

Grenville's fate was sealed when he fell out with King George III over the matter of who should rule for the King in the event of a deterioration¹³ of his mental health - Grenville tried to remove Queen Caroline, the King's mother, from the list because of her friendship with Bute.

It led to the King sacking him - a rare event in British history. He died of a blood disorder¹⁴ in 1770.

Quote unquote

"A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity."

Did you know?

His sister married the Earl of Chatham, a later prime minister, and his son William also became premier⁸ as Lord Grenville.

Wife

Elizabeth Wyndham was a devoted¹⁵ wife, delivering nine children for the PM - two of whom died in infancy¹⁶.  Smallpox¹⁷ had scarred her face and she had a slight stammer¹⁸ but was still regarded as 'the first prize in the marriage lottery¹⁹' of the time. 

She was especially good at looking after the family estates while her husband ran the country.