After the sudden death of Prime Minister George Canning in August 1827, only four months into his term of office, George IV had to choose another prime minister at short notice. He was hostile to Wellington and Peel, the leading Tories, for their refusal to serve in Canning's cabinet, so instead he chose Viscount Goderich, who had been one of Canning's ministers. However, Goderich, faced with holding together a fragile coalition of moderate Whigs and Tories, lasted barely any longer than Canning. When he resigned in January 1828, the King was put under pressure to select the Duke of Wellington, as his successor, and this hero of the Napoleonic Wars finally became Prime Minister. For the most part, his term in office was marked by a …

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "The Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister for the first time". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1845, accessed 23 November 2024.]