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Sir Robert Peel succeeds the Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister

When
1834
Where
London
Episodes
2

Sir Robert Peel became Prime Minister in December 1834, succeeding Lord Melbourne's government. The Duke of Wellington served as an interim leader for three weeks in November and December 1834, taking prime ministerial responsibilities before Peel's appointment. Wellington declined to become prime minister permanently, believing House of Commons membership was essential.

Episodes

  1. November-December 1834 · LondonWellington's Interim Leadership

    Wellington acted as interim leader for three weeks in November and December 1834, taking prime ministerial responsibilities.

  2. December 1834 · LondonPeel Becomes Prime Minister

    Peel became prime minister in early December 1834 following the resignation of Charles Grey.

Background and detail

Background. Lord Melbourne's government fell in 1834. King William IV invited the Tories to form a ministry, leading to Peel's appointment as Prime Minister in early December 1834. The Duke of Wellington, who had served as Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830, acted as an interim leader for three weeks in November and December 1834, taking the responsibilities of prime minister and most other ministries.

Wellington's Interim Leadership. Wellington declined to become prime minister permanently in 1834 because he thought membership in the House of Commons had become essential. Consequently, he acted as interim leader for three weeks in November and December 1834, taking the responsibilities of prime minister and most of the other ministries. In Peel's first cabinet, Wellington became foreign secretary.

Peel's Appointment. Following the resignation of former prime minister Charles Grey, Peel became prime minister in early December 1834 at the invitation of William IV. Peel served as Prime Minister from 1834 to 1835 and also held the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer during this period.

People involved

Sources

  1. Robert Peel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-30
  2. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.