Past Prime Ministers
Born Baptised 1 June 1720, Baptised St Martin’s in the Fields, Westminster
Died 2 October 1764, Spa, the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium)
Dates in office 6 November 1756 - 25 June 1757
Political party Whig
Major acts
Militia Act 1757 - established militia regiments in all counties in England and Wales, reviving the system of home defence that had been in abeyance since the Civil War.
William Cavendish Duke of Devonshire
1756 - 1757
“Every King must make use of human means to attain human ends or his affairs will go to ruin.”
A reluctant prime minister – and known as one the best looking men in London – the Duke of Devonshire had no real thirst for political power, and his short time in office was dominated by Pitt the Elder.
George II had to work hard to persuade him to accept the position of prime minister. When he did, at the age of 36, the effective premier was Pitt the Elder, acting as Secretary of State.
The chief events of Devonshire’s term were the court martialling of a navy admiral for his failure to relieve Minorca, and a dispute with the Duke of Cumberland over the defence of Hanover.
Devonshire resigned after a lacklustre seven months. In 1764 he died in Germany, at a younger age than any other British PM – just 44 years old.