1.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
2.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, PC, FRS was a British statesman of the Whig group who led the government of Great Britain twice in the middle of the 18th century. Historians call him Pitt of Chatham, or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish from his son, William Pitt the Younger, Pitt was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766. Pitt was a member of the British cabinet and its leader from 1756 to 1761. He again led the ministry, holding the title of Lord Privy Seal. Much of his power came from his brilliant oratory, Peters argues his statesmanship was based on a clear, consistent, and distinct appreciation of the value of the Empire. The British parliamentary historian Peter D. G, Thomas argues that Pitts power was based not on his family connections but the extraordinary parliamentary skills by which he dominated the House of Commons. He displayed a commanding manner, brilliant rhetoric, and sharp debating skills that cleverly utilized broad literary and historical knowledge. Pitt was the grandson of Thomas Pitt, the governor of Madras, known as Diamond Pitt for having discovered and this transaction, as well as other trading deals in India, established the Pitt family fortune. He made further purchases and became one of the dominant political figures in the West Country controlling seats such as the rotten borough of Old Sarum. Williams father was Robert Pitt, the eldest son of Governor Pitt and his mother was Harriet Villiers, the daughter of Edward Villiers-FitzGerald and the Irish heiress Katherine FitzGerald. Both Williams paternal uncles Thomas and John were MPs, while his aunt Lucy married the leading Whig politician, William Pitt was born at Golden Square, Westminster, on 15 November 1708. His older brother Thomas Pitt had been born in 1704, there were also five sisters, Harriet, Catherine, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary. From 1719 William was educated at Eton College along with his brother, William disliked Eton, later claiming that a public school might suit a boy of turbulent disposition but would not do where there was any gentleness. It was at school that Pitt began to suffer from gout, in 1726 Governor Pitt died, and the family estate at Boconnoc passed to Williams father. When he died the year, Boconnoc was inherited by Williams elder brother. In January 1727, William was entered as a commoner at Trinity College. There is evidence that he was a reader, if not a minutely accurate classical scholar. William diligently cultivated the faculty of expression by the practice of translation and re-translation, in these years he became a close friend of George Lyttelton, who would later become a leading politician
3.
Lord Privy Seal
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The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the sinecure offices of state. Originally, its holder was responsible for the personal seal. Today, the holder of the office is given a seat in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the premiership of Clement Attlee, the position of Lord Privy Seal has frequently been combined with that of Leader of the House of Lords or Leader of the House of Commons. The office of Lord Privy Seal, unlike those of Leader of the Lords or Commons, is eligible for a ministerial salary under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. The office does not confer membership of the House of Lords, leading to Ernest Bevins remark on holding office that he was neither a Lord, nor a Privy. During the reign of Edward I, prior to 1307, the Privy Seal was kept by the Controller of the Wardrobe, the Lord Privy Seal was the president of the Court of Requests during its existence
4.
George Grenville
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George Grenville, PC was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into a political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham. He emerged as one of Cobhams Cubs, a group of members of Parliament associated with Lord Cobham. In 1754 Grenville became Treasurer of the Navy, a position he held twice until 1761, in October 1761 he chose to stay in government and accepted the new role of Leader of the Commons causing a rift with his brother-in-law and political ally William Pitt who had resigned. Grenville was subsequently made Northern Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty by the new Prime Minister Lord Bute, on 8 April 1763, Lord Bute resigned, and Grenville assumed his position as Prime Minister. His government tried to bring public spending under control and pursued a foreign policy. His best known policy is the Stamp Act, a tax in Great Britain onto the colonies in America. Grenville had increasingly strained relations with his colleagues and the King and in 1765 he was dismissed by George III, for the last five years of his life Grenville led a group of his supporters in opposition and staged a public reconciliation with Pitt. George Grenville was born at Wotton House on 14 October 1712 and he was the second son of Richard Grenville and Hester Temple. He was one of five brothers, all of whom became MPs and his sister Hester Grenville married the leading political figure William Pitt. His elder brother was Richard Grenville, later the 2nd Earl Temple and it was intended by his parents that George Grenville should become a lawyer. Grenville received his education at Eton College and at Christ Church, Oxford and he entered Parliament in 1741 as one of the two members for Buckingham, and continued to represent that borough for the next twenty-nine years until his death. He was disappointed to be giving up what appeared to be a legal career for the uncertainties of opposition politics. In Parliament he subscribed to the Boy Patriot party, which opposed Sir Robert Walpole, in December 1744 he became a Lord of the Admiralty in the administration of Henry Pelham. He allied himself with his brother Richard and with William Pitt in forcing Pelham to give them promotion by rebelling against his authority, in June 1747, Grenville became a Lord of the Treasury. In 1754 Grenville was made Treasurer of the Navy and Privy Councillor, opposition to European entanglements was a cornerstone of Patriot Whig thinking. He and Pitt joined the opposition, haranguing the Newcastle government, Grenville and Pitt both championed the formation of a British militia to provide additional security rather than the deployment of Hessian mercenaries favoured by the government. As the military situation deteriorated following the loss of Minorca, the government grew increasingly weak until it was forced to resign in Autumn 1756, Pitt then formed a government led by the Duke of Devonshire
5.
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden
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Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, PC was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl of Camden. As a lawyer and judge he was a proponent of civil liberties, championing the rights of the jury. However, he clung to office himself, even when Pitt was out of power, serving in the cabinet for fifteen years, during his life, Pratt played a leading role in opposing perpetual copyright, resolving the regency crisis of 1788 and in championing Foxs Libel Bill. He started the development of the settlement that was later to become Camden Town in London. Born in Kensington in 1714, he was a descendant of an old Devon family of high standing, charless mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Rev. Hugh Wilson of Trefeglwys, and the aunt of landscape painter Richard Wilson and he received his early education at Eton, where he became acquainted with William Pitt, and Kings College, Cambridge. He had already developed an interest in law and civil liberties. In 1734 he became a fellow of his college, and in the following year obtained his degree of BA, having adopted his fathers profession, he had entered the Middle Temple in 1728, and ten years later he was called to the Bar. He practised at first in the courts of law, travelling also the western circuit. For some years his practice was so limited, and he became so discouraged that he seriously thought of turning his back on the law. He listened, however, to the advice of his friend Sir Robert Henley, a brother barrister, reputedly, once instructed as Henleys junior, Henley feigned illness so that Pratt could lead and earn the credit. The first case brought him prominently into notice and gave him assurance of ultimate success was the government prosecution, in 1752, of a bookseller. The author had left the country so the weight of the governments censure fell on Owen, the jury disagreed and acquitted Owen. Pratt was appointed Kings Counsel in 1755, and knighted in December 1761, in 1756, Newcastle offered Pratt a judgeship but Pratt preferred to take the role of Attorney General to the Prince of Wales. In July 1757, Pitt formed a government with Newcastle. Pratt was preferred over Solicitor General Charles Yorke, Yorke was the son of Lord Hardwicke, a political ally of Newcastle who, as Lord Chancellor had obstructed Pratts career in favour of his own son. They asserted that, while the Crown of Great Britain enjoyed sovereignty over both, only the property of the former was vested in the Crown, though the original opinion related to the British East India Company, it came to be applied elsewhere in the developing British Empire. The same year he entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for the borough of Downton in Wiltshire and he sat in Parliament for four years, but did not distinguish himself as a debater
6.
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
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He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his most notable legacy. He was also known as a collector of antiquities and works of art. Lord Shelburne was born in Dublin in 1737 and spent his years in Ireland. After attending Oxford University he served in the British army during the Seven Years War taking part in the Raid on Rochefort, as a reward for his conduct at the Battle of Kloster Kampen, Shelburne was appointed an aide-de-camp to George III. He became involved in politics, becoming a member of parliament in 1760, after his fathers death in 1761 he inherited his title and was elevated to the House of Lords and took an active role in politics. He served as President of the Board of Trade in the Grenville Ministry but resigned this position only a few months. When Pitt was made Prime Minister in 1766 Shelburne was appointed as Southern Secretary and he departed office during the Corsican Crisis and joined the Opposition. Along with Pitt he was an advocate of a policy towards Britains American Colonies. Following the fall of the North government Shelburne joined its replacement led by Lord Rockingham, Shelburne was made Prime Minister in 1782 following Rockinghams death with the American War still being fought. Shelburne however had a vision of long-term benefit to Britain through trade with a large and increasingly prosperous United States, after he was forced from office in 1783 at age 45, he permanently lost his power and influence. Shelburne lamented that his career had been a failure, despite the high offices he held over 40 years. He blamed his poor education—although it was as good as that of most peers—and said the problem was that it has been my fate through life to fall in with clever. Historians, however, point to a nasty personality that alienated friend and his contemporaries distrusted him as too prone to trickery and duplicity. Biographer John Cannon says His uneasiness prompted him to alternate flattery and hectoring, which most of his colleagues found unpleasant, in debate he was frequently vituperative and sarcastic. Success came too early, and produced jealousy, especially when he was tagged as an upstart Irishman and he never understood the power of the House of Commons, or how to deal with its leaders. He advocated numerous reforms, especially trade, religious toleration. He was ahead of his time, but was unable to build a network of support from his colleagues who distrusted his motives. In turn he distrusted others, and tried to do all the work himself so that it would be done right and he was born William Fitzmaurice in Dublin in Ireland, the first son of John Fitzmaurice, who was the second surviving son of the 1st Earl of Kerry
7.
Lord Chancellor
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The Lord Chancellor, formally the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. They are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking after only the Lord High Steward. Prior to the Union there were separate Lords Chancellor for England and Wales, the Lord Chancellor is a member of the Cabinet and, by law, is responsible for the efficient functioning and independence of the courts. In 2007 there were a number of changes to the legal system, the current Lord Chancellor is Elizabeth Truss, who is also Secretary of State for Justice. One of the Lord Chancellors responsibilities is to act as the custodian of the Great Seal of the Realm, a Lord Keeper of the Great Seal may be appointed instead of a Lord Chancellor. The two offices entail exactly the same duties, the distinction is in the mode of appointment. The seal is then said to be in commission, since the 19th century, however, only Lord Chancellors have been appointed, the other offices having fallen into disuse. The office of Lord Chancellor of England may trace its origins to the Carolingian monarchy, in England, the office dates at least as far back as the Norman Conquest, and possibly earlier. Some give the first Chancellor of England as Angmendus, in 605, other sources suggest that the first to appoint a Chancellor was Edward the Confessor, who is said to have adopted the practice of sealing documents instead of personally signing them. A clerk of Edwards, Regenbald, was named chancellor in some documents from Edwards reign, in any event, the office has been continuously occupied since the Norman Conquest. The chancellor headed the office or chancery. Formerly, the Lord Chancellor was almost always a churchman, as during the Middle Ages the clergy were amongst the few men of the realm. The Lord Chancellor performed multiple functions—he was the Keeper of the Great Seal, the royal chaplain. Thus, the position emerged as one of the most important ones in government and he was only outranked in government by the Justiciar. As one of the Kings ministers, the Lord Chancellor attended the curia regis or Royal Court, if a bishop, the Lord Chancellor received a writ of summons, if an ecclesiastic of a lower degree or, if a layman, he attended without any summons. The curia regis would later evolve into Parliament, the Lord Chancellor becoming the prolocutor of its upper house, as was confirmed by a statute passed during the reign of Henry VIII, a Lord Chancellor could preside over the House of Lords even if not a Lord himself. The Lord Chancellors judicial duties also evolved through his role in the curia regis, petitions for justice were normally addressed to the King and the curia, but in 1280, Edward I instructed his justices to examine and deal with petitions themselves as the Court of Kings Bench. Important petitions were to be sent to the Lord Chancellor for his decision, by the reign of Edward III, this chancellery function developed into a separate tribunal for the Lord Chancellor
8.
Lord President of the Council
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The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council, in the modern era, the holder is by convention always a member of one of the houses of Parliament and the office is a Cabinet post. The Lord President is currently David Lidington as of 14 July 2016, the Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council. Only a few Privy Counsellors need attend such meetings, and only invited to do so at the Governments request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most typical for the Lord President to also serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords. Before the change of government in 2010, the Lord President was Peter Mandelson, examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President. In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet responsible for the education system. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, a particularly vital role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. The Lord President served as chairman of the Lord Presidents Committee and this committee acted as a central clearing house for dealing with the countrys economic problems. This was vital to the running of the British war economy. Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar, the so-called overlord ministers included Frederick Leathers as Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power and Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton as Lord President. Wooltons job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture, the Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Privy Council Office Vice-President of the Executive Council President of the Queens Privy Council for Canada Sinecure
9.
Frederick the Great
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Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786, the longest reign of any Hohenzollern king. Frederick was the last titled King in Prussia and declared himself King of Prussia after achieving full sovereignty for all historical Prussian lands, Prussia had greatly increased its territories and became a leading military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great and was affectionately nicknamed Der Alte Fritz by the Prussian, in his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than the art of war. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning acclaim for himself. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland and he was an influential military theorist whose analysis emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. Considering himself the first servant of the state, Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism and he modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and pursued religious policies throughout his realm that ranged from tolerance to segregation. He reformed the system and made it possible for men not of noble stock to become judges. Frederick also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia, some critics, however, point out his oppressive measures against conquered Polish subjects during the First Partition. Frederick supported arts and philosophers he favored, as well as allowing complete freedom of the press, Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II, son of his brother, historian Leopold von Ranke was unstinting in his praise of Fredericks Heroic life, inspired by great ideas, filled with feats of arms. Immortalized by the raising of the Prussian state to the rank of a power, Johann Gustav Droysen was even more extolling. However, by the 21st century, a re-evaluation of his legacy as a great warrior, Frederick, the son of Frederick William I and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, was born in Berlin on 24 January 1712. The birth of Frederick was welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, with more than usual pleasure, with the death of his father in 1713, Frederick William became King of Prussia, thus making young Frederick the crown prince. The new king wished for his sons and daughters to be educated not as royalty and he had been educated by a Frenchwoman, Madame de Montbail, who later became Madame de Rocoulle, and he wished that she educate his children. However, he possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. As Frederick grew, his preference for music, literature and French culture clashed with his fathers militarism, in contrast, Fredericks mother Sophia was polite, charismatic and learned. Her father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg, succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, Frederick was brought up by Huguenot governesses and tutors and learned French and German simultaneously. Although Frederick William I was raised a Calvinist, he feared he was not of the elect, to avoid the possibility of Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination
10.
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
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Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke KB, PC was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate HMS Berwick he took part in the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession and he also captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747. Hawke went on to achieve a victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 during the Seven Years War and he developed the concept of a Western Squadron, keeping an almost continuous blockade of the French coast throughout the war. Hawke also served as First Lord of the Admiralty for five years between 1766 and 1771, in this post, he was successful in bringing the navys spending under control and also oversaw the mobilisation of the navy during the Falklands Crisis in 1770. Born the only son of a Edward Hawke, a barrister at Lincolns Inn, and Elizabeth Hawke, Hawke benefited from the patronage of Colonel Martin Bladen a Member of Parliament, who was his maternal uncle. Hawke joined the navy as a volunteer in the sixth-rate HMS Seahorse on the North American Station in February 1720 and he did this successfully, although it meant his ship did not take part in the British attack on Porto Bello in November 1739 during the War of Jenkins Ear. Hawke became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Berwick in June 1743, the fight at Toulon was extremely confused, although Hawke had emerged from it with a degree of credit. Hawkes ship managed to capture the prize of the battle. He was then given command of the second-rate HMS Neptune in August 1745, despite having distinguished himself at Toulon, Hawke had few opportunities over the next three years. However, he was promoted to admiral on 15 July 1747 and appointed Second-in-Command of the Western Squadron. He went on to replace Admiral Peter Warren as the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Squadron, with his flag in the third-rate HMS Devonshire, Hawke then put a great deal of effort into improving the performance of his crews and instilling in them a sense of pride and patriotism. The Western Squadron had been established to keep a watch on the French Channel ports, under a previous commander, Lord Anson, it had successfully contained the French coast and in May 1747 won the First Battle of Cape Finisterre when it attacked a large convoy leaving harbour. The British had received word there was now an incoming convoy arriving from the West Indies. Hawke took his fleet and lay in wait for the arrival of the French, in October 1747, Hawke captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre. The consequence of this, along with Ansons earlier victory, was to give the British almost total control in the English Channel during the months of the war. It proved ruinous to the French economy, helping the British to secure a peace at the negotiations for the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. For Hawke, however, the arrival of peace brought an end to his opportunities for active service. In December 1747, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the town of Portsmouth
11.
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
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John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, KG, PC was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain under George III. He was arguably the last important favourite in British politics and he was the first Prime Minister from Scotland following the Acts of Union in 1707. A close relative of the Clan Campbell, Bute succeeded to the Earldom of Bute upon the death of his father, James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, in 1723. He was brought up thereafter by his uncles, the 2nd Duke of Argyll and Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st and only Earl of Ilay, Viscount. Bute studied at Eton College and the University of Leiden, Netherlands, on 24 August 1736, he married Mary Wortley Montagu, bringing the large Wortley estates to his family. In 1737, due to the influence of his uncles, he was elected a Scottish representative peer, for the next several years he retired to his estates in Scotland to manage his affairs and indulge his interest in botany. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, Bute moved to Westminster, London, upon the Princes death in 1751, the education of his son, Prince George, the new Prince of Wales, became a priority and in 1755 Bute was appointed as his tutor. Bute arranged for the Prince and his brother Prince Edward to follow a course of lectures on natural philosophy by the itinerant lecturer Stephen Demainbray. Furthermore, following the death of the Prince Frederick, Bute became close to his widow, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha and it was rumoured that the couple were having an affair, and indeed soon after John Horne published a scandalous pamphlet alluding to a liaison between Bute and the Princess. Rumours of this affair were almost certainly untrue, as Bute was by all indications happily married, in 1780 Bute was elected as the first President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Because of the influence he had over his pupil, Bute expected to quickly to political power following Georges accession to the throne in 1760. It would first be necessary to both the incumbent Prime Minister and arguably the even more powerful Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Re-elected as a Scottish representative peer in 1760, Bute was indeed appointed the de facto Prime Minister, bute’s premiership was notable for the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris which concluded the Seven Years’ War. They therefore charged the colonists for the increased military levels, thus catalysing the resistance to taxes which led to the American Revolution, king George began to see through Bute, and turned against him after being criticised for an official speech which the press recognised as Butes own work. Bute also proposed a controversial Cider tax which produced enormous hostility in cider-producing areas, the journalist John Wilkes published a newspaper called The North Briton, in which both Bute and the Dowager Princess of Wales were savagely satirised. Bute resigned as prime minister shortly afterwards, though he remained in the House of Lords a Scottish representative peer until 1780 and he remained friendly with the Dowager Princess of Wales, but her attempts to reconcile him with George III proved futile. For the remainder of his life, Bute remained at his estate in Hampshire, from there he continued his pursuit of botany and became a major literary and artistic patron. Among his beneficiaries were Samuel Johnson, Tobias Smollett, Robert Adam, William Robertson and he also gave considerably to the Scottish universities
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