After the sudden death of Prime Minister George Canning only four months into his term of office, George IV had to choose another prime minister at short notice. Hostile to the leading Tories, Wellington and Peel, for their refusal to serve in Canning's cabinet, he instead chose the Viscount Goderich, who had been one of Canning's ministers. However, Goderich was faced with holding together a fragile coalition of moderate Whigs and Tories who had been united by Canning's charisma, and he lasted barely any longer than his predecessor had, before resigning on 21 January 1828. He later returned to serve in the cabinets of Earl Grey, in the early 1830s, and Robert Peel's in the early 1840s.

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Viscount Goderich becomes Prime Minister". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1844, accessed 23 November 2024.]