On This Day

July 10, 1765

George Grenville is forced to resign as Prime Minister

Grenville’s relations with King George III which were never good collapsed in early 1765. The King blamed Grenville for riots in London and sought to replace the government but failed to find a candidate. Sensing the King’s weakness Grenville imposed humiliating conditions on the King but in doing so turned George into an implacable foe. Less than a month later, with the help of his uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, and the Whig grandee, the Duke of Newcastle, George turned the tables on Grenville with the appointment of Newcastle’s protegee the Marquess of Rockingham. Grenville left office with his reputation enhanced but the king’s hatred meant that Grenville never held office again.