The Whig Lord Rockingham had become Prime…
December 1783 CE
The King had then appointed Lord Shelburne to replace him
Charles James Fox, however, had refused to serve under Shelburne, and demanded the appointment of the Duke of Portland.
In 1783, the House of Commons forces Shelburne from office and his government is replaced by the Fox–North Coalition.
The Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister, with Fox and Lord North as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respectively.
The King dislikes Fox intensely, for his politics as well as his character; he thinks Fox is unprincipled and a bad influence on the Prince of Wales.
George III is distressed at having to appoint ministers not of his liking, but the Portland ministry quickly builds up a majority in the House of Commons, and n be displaced easily.
He was further dismayed when the government introduces the India Bill, which proposes to reform the government of India by transferring political power from the East India Company to Parliamentary commissioners.
Although the King actually favors greater control over the Company, the proposed commissioners are all political allies of Fox.
Immediately after the House of Commons passes it, George authorizes Lord Temple to inform the House of Lords that he will regard any peer who votes for the bill as his enemy.
The bill is rejected by the Lords; three days later, the Portland ministry is dismissed, and William Pitt the Younger is appointed Prime Minister, with Temple as his Secretary of State.
On December 17, 1783, Parliament votes in favor of a motion condemning the influence of the monarch in parliamentary voting as a "high crime" and Temple is forced to resign.
Temple's departure destabilizes the government, and three months later the government will lose its majority and Parliament was dissolved; the subsequent election will give Pitt a firm mandate.
Locations
People
Charles James Fox
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Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
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Frederick North, Lord North
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George III of Great Britain
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George IV of the United Kingdom
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William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
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William Petty, Earl of Shelburne
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William Pitt the Younger
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Regions
North Europe
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