Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG, PC, FRS was a British statesman of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory mi
Portrait by Godfrey Kneller, 1714
Robert Harley by Jonathan Richardson, c. 1710.
Oxford (right), together with his friend and ally Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke and a portrait of Francis Atterbury. Engraving after a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Robert Harley pictured carrying the white staff of the Lord High Treasurer. Portrait by Jonathan Richardson.
Whig Split
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The Whig Split occurred between 1717 and 1720, when the governing British Whig Party divided into two factions: one in government, led by James Stanhope; the other in opposition, dominated by Robert W
James Stanhope, a former military commander, led the government Whigs during the split.
After falling out with his father King George, his son George, Prince of Wales joined with the Opposition Whigs.
After reconciling with his Whig opponents, Sir Robert Walpole became the Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742.