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Eighteenth Century British Prime Minister No.7

• John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
  • Life: 25 May, 1713 – 10 March, 1792
• Administration: 26 May, 1762 – 8 April, 1763
  • Age in office: 49 years old
  • Duration of administration: 318 days
  • Political faction: Tory
  • Predecessor: Duke of Newcastle (II)
  • Successor: George Grenville

Click to read Overview of ‘PMs on the Pan‘

The Bare Essentials: Earl of Bute

• Bute’s Legs: (Yes, this deserves the top bullet point!) Bute was known to have a fine pair of legs. In the Eighteenth century an aristocratic male wore breeches and stockings which made his legs visible. Look at the famous Joshua Reynolds’ 1773 portrait of Bute. Charles Atlas, eat your heart out.
• First Scottish Prime Minister: Bute was the first Scotsman to lead the new British nation.
• First Tory: Bute’s also the first Tory to appear in the PM’s on the Pan series – as the first Tory Prime Minister.
• Disliked. No, he was hated!: He was not liked, to put it mildly. We think today our politicians have it bad, but it was pretty bl**dy awful back then. Why hated? Why because he was Scottish, of course. The memory of the 1745 Jacobite uprising (the Scots contingent marched as far south as Derby, picking up English sympathisers on the way) was still fresh in people’s minds – it was just 17 years earlier.
• He was disliked BEFORE he became PM: Bute was closely linked to the Royal Court – making him a target for animosity. That grew in intensity after the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1751, because Bute’s royal orbit, centred as it was now around the next in line – young George – was closing in on the crown.
• How it all began – Bute’s Royal connection: In 1745 the 32-year-old Bute was in Twickenham (at the time of the Jacobite rebellion) and one day made the acquaintance of King George II’s son Frederick. This led to an appointment as Frederick’s Lord of the Bedchamber, bringing him into contact with the Prince’s inner circle, his wife Princess Augusta and son George. Frederick died in 1751, but Bute stayed on in charge of young George’s household. George II died in 1760 and the prince became George III. Two years later, the young king persuaded his mentor Bute to become Prime Minister.
• Nepotism: Oh yeah. he was hated because people thought he was placing Scotsmen, friends, in positions of power. He did, but not excessively so. But then everyone did it. (Stop complaining!)
• Success: He was reasonably good at the job. He got the Treaty of Paris through (terminating the Seven Years War…with France), though he attracted even more heat when, as part of the negotiations he give up two Caribbean islands and only got massive Canada in return. (For crying out loud!)
• Resignation: Bute surprised everyone when he resigned from office after just 318 days in office. The young king encouraged him to take up the post originally, but he never really enjoyed it. He was wealthy and no longer needed to work.

Check out my PMs on the Pan series of posts

Here’s the full list of Eighteenth century British Prime Ministers. Note there were 16 administrations, but 14 Prime Ministers and that’s because two of them held office twice (Newcastle and Rockingham). Two others held office twice (Portland and Pitt the Younger), but their second terms were in the Nineteenth century. The text in bold highlights the name they’re commonly known by.

1. 1721-1742: Sir Robert Walpole
2. 1742-1743: Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington
3. 1743-1754: Henry Pelham
4. 1754-1756: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (I)
5. 1756-1757: William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
6. 1757-1762: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (II)
7. 1762-1763: John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
8. 1763-1765: George Grenville
9. 1765-1766: Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham (I)
10. 1766-1768: William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham
11. 1768-1770: Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
12. 1770-1782: Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (Lord North)
13. 1782: Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham (II)
14. 1782-1783: William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
15. 1783: William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (I)
16. 1783-1801: William Pitt the Younger (I)

Sources for information about the Earl of Bute

The Prime Ministers, Iain Dale (2020) (Bute article by David Torrance)
UK History of Government, Bute
British Prime Ministers of the 18th Century, FJC Hearnshaw (1928)
Wikipedia: Earl of Bute