Grenville ministry

Not to be confused with the administration headed by Grenville's son, the ministry of All the Talents.

The Grenville ministry was a British Government headed by George Grenville which served between 16 April 1763 and 13 July 1765. It was formed after the previous Prime Minister, the Earl of Bute, had resigned following fierce criticism of his signing of the Treaty of Paris with its perceived lenient terms for France and Spain despite Britain's successes in the Seven Years War. Grenville's government was made up largely of the same members as Bute's had. George III had a strong dislike of the new government because of the way they had replaced his favourite Bute.^[1]

Prime Minister Grenville

During its two years, the ministry confronted growing discontent in Britain's American colonies which were to lead to the American War of Independence breaking out in 1775. The ministry also had to deal with the actions of John Wilkes.

The King's violent dislike of Grenville eventually forced him to dismiss him as first minister. He replaced Grenville with the Marquess of Rockingham, whom he hated almost equally.

Ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office
First Lord of the Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer Leader of the House of Commons	George Grenville (head of ministry)	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
Secretary of State for the Southern Department	Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont	1763 (1763)	1763 (1763)
	George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
	Henry Seymour Conway	1765 (1765)	1765 (1765)
Secretary of State for the Northern Department	George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax	1763 (1763)	1763 (1763)
	John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
	Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton	1765 (1765)	1765 (1765)
Lord Chancellor	Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
Lord President of the Council	John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville	1763 (1763)	1763 (1763)
	John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
	Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea	1765 (1765)	1765 (1765)
Lord Privy Seal	George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
First Lord of the Admiralty	John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich	1763 (1763)	1763 (1763)
	John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
Master-General of the Ordnance	John Manners, Marquess of Granby	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
Paymaster of the Forces	Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)
Lord Chamberlain	Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower	1763 (1763)	1765 (1765)

References

1. (Whiteley 1996, p. 44)

Further reading

• Browning, Reed (1975). The Duke of Newcastle. Yale University Press.
• Hibbert, Christopher (1999). George III: A Personal History. Penguin Books.
• Whiteley, Peter (1996). Lord North: The Prime Minister Who Lost America. The Hambledon Press.