Portrait of the Duke of Wellington, 1844, by Antoine Claudet

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

had dismissed the Whig government of

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

on 14 November 1834 and asked the Duke of Wellington to form a government but he declined, instead recommending

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

. Peel was in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

at the time, so the Duke of Wellington took control of the government in a caretaker capacity until Peel returned and was able to form his government on 10 December.

List of ministers

During the caretaker government there was no Cabinet.

Notes

* Wellington was the only Secretary of State. * As no separate Chancellor of the Exchequer had been appointed, Denman held the post ''pro tempore'' by virtue of being

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. * Most offices were in commission.

References

{{British ministries British ministries

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

1834 establishments in the United Kingdom 1834 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Ministry 2 Ministries of William IV of the United Kingdom Cabinets established in 1834 Cabinets disestablished in 1834 1830s in the United Kingdom Caretaker governments Provisional governments