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The Right Honourable The Viscount Melbourne PC PC (Ire) FRS
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841
Monarch	William IV Victoria
Preceded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Succeeded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
In office 16 July 1834 – 14 November 1834
Monarch	William IV
Preceded by	The Earl Grey
Succeeded by	The Duke of Wellington
Leader of the Opposition
In office 30 August 1841 – October 1842
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Preceded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Succeeded by	Lord John Russell
In office 14 November 1834 – 18 April 1835
Monarch	William IV
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Preceded by	The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Home Secretary
In office 22 November 1830 – 16 July 1834
Prime Minister	The Earl Grey
Preceded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Succeeded by	The Viscount Duncannon
Chief Secretary for Ireland
In office 29 April 1827 – 21 June 1828
Prime Minister	George Canning The Viscount Goderich The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by	Henry Goulburn
Succeeded by	Lord Francis Leveson-Gower
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 16 July 1834 – 14 November 1834
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	The Earl Grey
Succeeded by	The Duke of Wellington
In office 18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841
Preceded by	The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	The Duke of Wellington
Member of the British Parliament for Leominster
In office 1806–1806
Preceded by	John Lubbock Charles Kinnaird
Succeeded by	John Lubbock Henry Bonham
Member of the British Parliament for Portarlington
In office 1807–1812
Preceded by	Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt
Succeeded by	Arthur Shakespeare
Member of the British Parliament for Peterborough
In office 1816–1819
Preceded by	William Elliot George Ponsonby
Succeeded by	The Lord Abinger Sir Robert Heron, Bt
Personal details
Born	(1779-03-15)15 March 1779 London, England
Died	24 November 1848(1848-11-24) (aged 69) Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, England
Resting place	St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Lady Caroline Ponsonby (m. 1805; died 1828)
Children	2
Parents	Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne Elizabeth Milbanke
Alma mater	Eton College, Glasgow University, Trinity College, Cambridge
Signature

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, PC (Ire), FRS (15 March 1779 – 24 November 1848) was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria in the ways of politics, when she was between the ages of 18 and 21. Historians have concluded that Melbourne does not rank highly as a Prime Minister, for there were no great foreign wars or domestic issues to handle, he lacked major achievements, and he enunciated no grand principles. "But he was kind, honest and not self-seeking."^[1]

Melbourne was Prime Minister on two occasions. The first occasion ended when he was dismissed by King William IV in 1834, the last British prime minister to be dismissed by a monarch. Six months later he was re-appointed and served for six years.

Early life

Born in London in 1779 to an aristocratic Whig family, William Lamb was the son of the 1st Viscount Melbourne and Elizabeth, Viscountess Melbourne (1751–1818). However, his paternity was questioned, being attributed to George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, to whom it was considered he bore a considerable resemblance, and at whose residence, Petworth, Lamb was a visitor until the Earl's death; he was called to his bedside when he was dying.^[2][3][4] Lamb nevertheless stated that Egremont being his father was 'all a lie'.^[5] He was educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of Glasgow.^[6] Against the background of the Napoleonic Wars, Lamb served at home as captain (1803) and major (1804) in the Hertfordshire Volunteer Infantry.^[7]

He succeeded his elder brother as heir to his father's title in 1805, and married Lady Caroline Ponsonby, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat. The following year, he was elected to the British House of Commons as the Whig MP for Leominster. For the election in 1806 he moved to the seat of Haddington Burghs, and for the 1807 election he successfully stood for Portarlington (a seat he held until 1812).^[8]

Lamb first came to general notice for reasons he would rather have avoided: his wife had a public affair with Lord Byron—she coined the famous characterisation of Byron as "mad, bad and dangerous to know".^[9] The resulting scandal was the talk of Britain in 1812. Lady Caroline published a Gothic novel, Glenarvon, in 1816; this portrayed both the marriage and her affair with Byron in a lurid fashion, which caused William even greater embarrassment, while the spiteful caricatures of leading society figures made them several influential enemies. Eventually the two were reconciled, and, though they separated in 1825, her death in 1828 affected him considerably.

In 1816, Lamb was returned for Peterborough by Whig grandee Lord Fitzwilliam. He told Lord Holland that he was committed to the Whig principles of the Glorious Revolution but not to "a heap of modern additions, interpolations, facts and fictions".^[8] He therefore spoke against parliamentary reform, and voted for the suspension of habeas corpus in 1817 when sedition was rife.^[8]

Lamb's hallmark was finding the middle ground. Though a Whig, he accepted (29 April 1827) the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland in the moderate Tory governments of George Canning and Lord Goderich. Upon the death of his father in 1828 and his becoming the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, he moved to the House of Lords. He had spent 25 years in the Commons, largely as a backbencher, and was not politically well known.^[10]

Home Secretary: 1830–1834

In November 1830, the Whigs came to power under Lord Grey. Melbourne was Home Secretary. During the disturbances of 1830–32 he "acted both vigorously and sensitively, and it was for this function that his reforming brethren thanked him heartily".^[8] In the aftermath of the Swing Riots of 1830–31, he countered the Tory magistrates' alarmism by refusing to resort to military force; instead, he advocated magistrates' usual powers be fully enforced, along with special constables and financial rewards for the arrest of rioters and rabble-rousers. He appointed a special commission to try approximately 1,000 of those arrested, and ensured that justice was strictly adhered to: one-third were acquitted and most of the one-fifth sentenced to death were instead transported.^[8]
There remains controversy regarding the hanging of Dic Penderyn, a protester in the Merthyr Rising who was then, and is now, widely judged to have been innocent. He appears to have been executed solely on the word of Melbourne, who sought a victim in order to 'set an example'.^[11]
The disturbances over reform in 1831–32 were countered with the enforcement of the usual laws; again, Melbourne refused to pass emergency legislation against sedition.^[8]

Prime Minister: 1834, 1835–1841

After Lord Grey resigned as Prime Minister in July 1834, the King was forced to appoint another Whig to replace him, as the Tories were not strong enough to support a government. Melbourne was the man most likely to be both acceptable to the King and hold the Whig party together. Melbourne hesitated after receiving from Grey the letter from the King requesting him to visit him to discuss the formation of a government. Melbourne thought he would not enjoy the extra work that accompanied the office of Premier, but he did not want to let his friends and party down. According to Charles Greville, Melbourne said to his secretary, Tom Young: "I think it's a damned bore. I am in many minds as to what to do". Young replied: "Why, damn it all, such a position was never held by any Greek or Roman: and if it only lasts three months, it will be worth while to have been Prime Minister of England [sic]." "By God, that's true," Melbourne said, "I'll go!"^[12]

Compromise was the key to many of Melbourne's actions. As an aristocrat, he had a vested interest in the status quo. He was opposed to the Reform Act 1832 proposed by the Whigs, arguing that Catholic emancipation had not ended in the tranquility expected of it,^[13] but reluctantly agreed that it was necessary to forestall the threat of revolution. Later he opposed the repeal of the Corn Laws, arguing not only that Catholic emancipation had failed, but also that the Reform Act had not improved the condition of the people.^[13]

King William IV's opposition to the Whigs' reforming ways led him to dismiss Melbourne in November. He then gave the Tories under Sir Robert Peel an opportunity to form a government. Peel's failure to win a House of Commons majority in the resulting general election (January 1835) made it impossible for him to govern, and the Whigs returned to power under Melbourne that April. This was the last time a British monarch attempted to appoint a government against a parliamentary majority.^[14]

Blackmailed

The next year, Melbourne was once again involved in a sex scandal. This time he was the victim of attempted blackmail from the husband of a close friend, society beauty and author Caroline Norton. The husband demanded £1,400, and when he was turned down he accused Melbourne of having an affair with his wife.^[15] At this time such a scandal would be enough to derail a major politician, so it is a measure of the respect contemporaries had for his integrity that Melbourne's government did not fall. The king and the Duke of Wellington urged him to stay on as prime minister. After Norton failed in court, Melbourne was vindicated, but he did stop seeing Norton.^[16]

Nonetheless, as historian Boyd Hilton concludes, "it is irrefutable that Melbourne's personal life was problematic. Spanking sessions with aristocratic ladies were harmless, not so the whippings administered to orphan girls taken into his household as objects of charity."^[17]

Queen Victoria

Melbourne was Prime Minister when Queen Victoria came to the throne (June 1837). Barely eighteen, she was only just breaking free from the domineering influence of her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her mother's adviser, Sir John Conroy. Over the next four years Melbourne trained her in the art of politics, and the two became friends: Victoria was quoted as saying she considered him like a father (her own had died when she was only eight months old), and Melbourne's son had died at a young age.^[18] Melbourne was given a private apartment at Windsor Castle, and unfounded rumours circulated for a time that Victoria would marry Melbourne, 40 years her senior. Tutoring Victoria was the climax of Melbourne's career: the prime minister spent four to five hours a day visiting and writing to her, and she responded with enthusiasm and grew in wisdom.^[19]

Continued rule

Lord Melbourne (1844, age 65); detail from a painting by John Partridge.^[20]

On 7 May 1839, Melbourne announced his intention to resign. This led to the Bedchamber Crisis. Prospective prime minister Robert Peel requested that Victoria dismiss some of the wives and daughters of Whig MPs who made up her personal entourage, arguing that the monarch should avoid any hint of favouritism to a party out of power. The Queen refused to comply—supported by Melbourne, although he was unaware that Peel had not requested the resignation of all the Queen's ladies as she had led him to believe—and hence, Peel refused to form a new government, and Melbourne was persuaded to stay on as Prime Minister.^{[citation needed]}

Melbourne left a considerable list of reforming legislation, which, although not as long as that of Lord Grey, is considered worthy nonetheless. Among his government's acts were a reduction in the number of capital offences, reforms of local government, and the reform of the Poor laws. This restricted the terms on which the poor were allowed relief and established compulsory admission to workhouses for the impoverished.^{[citation needed]}

On 25 February 1841, Melbourne was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[21]

Final vote of no confidence and resignation

Following a vote of no confidence initiated by Conservative MP John Stuart-Wortley, Melbourne's government fell, and he resigned as Prime Minister on 30 August 1841.^[22]

Later life: 1841–1848

A plaque marking the burial of Melbourne at St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, England

After Melbourne resigned permanently in August 1841, Victoria continued to write to him; but eventually the correspondence ceased as it was deemed to be inappropriate.^[23] It has been observed that Melbourne's role faded as Victoria increasingly relied on her new husband Prince Albert.^{[citation needed]}

Though weakened, Melbourne survived a stroke fourteen months after his departure from politics.^{[citation needed]} In retirement, he lived at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire. He died on 24 November 1848^[24] at Brocket Hall and was buried at nearby St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield, Hertfordshire.^[25]

On his death, his titles passed to his brother Frederick, as both of his children—a son, George Augustus Frederick (1807–1836) and a premature daughter (born 1809, died at birth)—had predeceased him.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

• 
  Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, was named in his honour in March 1837. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time.^[26][27]


• 
  Mount Melbourne, a stratovolcano in Antarctica, was also named in his honour by the British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross, in 1841.^[28]

In popular culture

• Lord Melbourne is portrayed by English actor Rufus Sewell in the UK TV series Victoria.^[29]

Notes

Collected papers

• 
  Lloyd Charles Sanders, ed. (1889). "Lord Melbourne's papers".
  ^{[full citation needed]}

Bibliography

• 
  Cecil, David (1954). Melbourne. London. major biography focused on his psychology


• 
  Cecil, David (1939). The Young Melbourne: And the Story of His Marriage with Caroline Lamb.
  


• 
  Dunkley, Henry ("VERAX") (1890). Lord Melbourne.
  


• 
  Mandler, Peter (1 January 2008) [1 September 2004]. "Lamb, William, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press,. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  


• 
  Marshall, Dorothy (1976). Lord Melbourne.
  ^{[full citation needed]}


• 
  Mitchell, L. G. (1997). Lord Melbourne, 1779–1848.
  


• 
  Newbould, I. D. C. (December 1976). "William IV and the Dismissal of the Whigs, 1834". Canadian Journal of History. 11 (3).
  


• 
  Newbould, Ian D. C. (1980). "Whiggery and the Dilemma of Reform: Liberals, Radicals, and the Melbourne Administration, 1835-9". Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research. 53 (128).
  


• 
  Ziegler, Philip (1976). Melbourne: A Life of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. London.
  ^{[full citation needed]}

Further reading

• 
  Hilton, Boyd (2006). A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846. Oxford.
  ^{[full citation needed]}


• 
  Cameron, R. H. (1976). "The Melbourne Administration, the Liberals and the Crisis of 1841". Durham University Journal. 69 (1).
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages


• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs


• thepeerage


• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Lamb
  


• 
   "Melbourne, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 90.
  


• 
  More about William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne on the Downing Street website


• 
  Historica's Heritage Minute video docudrama "Responsible Government" (Adobe Flash Player)


• 
  "Archival material relating to William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne". UK National Archives.
  


• 
  Portraits of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne at the National Portrait Gallery, London