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Eighteenth Century British Prime Minister No.11

• Name: Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
  • Life: 28 September, 1735 – 14 March, 1811 (d. 75)
• Administration: 14 October, 1768 – 28 January, 1770
  • Age in office: 33-34 years old
  • Duration of administration: 1 year and 107 days
  • Political faction: Whig
  • Predecessor: William Pitt the Elder
  • Successor: Lord North

‘PM on the Pan’ Take Aways

• Eleventh Prime Minister: Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton.
• Grafton trivia: Entered politics at the age of 21, he was the first Prime Minister to get divorced (Grafton himself had a publicly scandalous private life which brought him into some disrepute, though he diverted attention to his wife when she had an affair and the marriage broke down). Grafton married again, though not to his mistress, making him, also, the first Prime Minister to remarry while in office. Oh and he was a descendant of Charles II. He remained in politics for another 40 years after leaving the top job – that’s a political record.
• First Lord: Grafton became First Lord of the Treasury in July 1766, but Pitt the Elder was Prime Minister. This was unusual. First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister were by Walpole’s time generally held by one and the same person.
• How he got in office: He was already First Lord (of the Treasury) during Pitt the Elder’s administration and when Pitt resigned in ill health, Grafton, already First Lord of the Treasury, simply took up the Prime Minister title.
• Letters of Junius: George III pushed Grafton to pursue John Wilkes, following his criticism of the King’s influence on Government and his friendship and preference for Scots aristocrat John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. This stirred up negative opinion against him, and led to the curious and critical Letters of Junius, the author of whom has never been established. These letters increased pressure on Grafton as Prime Minister.
• Disastrous collection of US taxes: Grafton’s erm in office wass occupied with American business. He continued collection of Charles Townsend’s US import taxes…but spent £100,000 to collect just £300.
• Why he left office: Pitt the Elder, by now the 1st Earl of Chatham, was so critical of Grafton (Grafton and Pitt was friends in the early days) the wave of negative opinion convinced him to resign.

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 Duke of Grafton

The Prime Ministers, Iain Dale (2020) (Grafton article by Andrew Thompson)
Duke of Grafton episode of Iain Dale’s Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs and Dictators podcast
UK Govt Past Prime Ministers: Duke of Grafton
British Prime Ministers of the 18th Century, FJC Hearnshaw (1928)
Wikipedia: Duke of Grafton