MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III: William Pitt/PMs under GIII

We have two William Pitts (edler and younger) who were PMs. The rather curious thing is that the ELDER was PM from 1766-1768. The younger (b. 1759) was PM from from 19 December 1783 to 14 March 1801 and from 10 May 1804 to 23 January 1806. This means that in 1776 the PM was neither Pitt. Pitt the younger was born in 1759 making him 24 when he took office and 17 in 1776. He entered Cambridge at 14 and Parliament at 22. He was in fact a MP in 1776...but certainly was outspoken on the topic of the American war; calling it " 'most accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unnatural, unjust and diabolical'

The constitution was not signed until 1787: we often think in the US of 1776 being the "winning date" however it appears that 1787 was really the nail in the coffin.

Apparently the time period between his coronation (1760) and 1770 he appointed 10 PMs--supposedly called the "decade of ministerial instability". Frederick, Lord North was the PM at the time of the American revolution.

It appears that Alan has taken some liberties with the time period, etc. as I find it rather clear that he intends Pitt the Younger to be the Pitt of our play. Additionally it's believable that the colonies weren't recognized as truly lost based upon the 1776 date...Clearly he used Pitt the younger due to the evidence of drinking in the text and the AGE factor.

Here are the PMs under Gerorge III thru to Pitt the Younger.

Thomas Pelham Holles, Duke of Newcastle	29 June 1757	26 May 1762	Whig
John Stuart, third Earl of Bute	26 May 1762	8 April 1763	Tory
George Grenville	16 April 1763	10 July 1765	Whig
Charles Watson-Wentworth, second Marquis of Rockingham	13 July 1765	30 July 1766	Whig
William Pitt (the Elder), Earl of Chatham	30 July 1766	14 October 1768	Whig
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, third Duke of Grafton	14 October 1768	28 January 1770	Whig
Frederick, Lord North	28 January 1770	27 March 1782	Tory
Charles Watson-Wentworth, second Marquis of Rockingham	27 March 1782	1 July 1782	Whig
William Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne	4 July 1782	26 March 1783	Whig
William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, third Duke of Portland (the Fox-North coalition)	2 April 1783	18 December 1783	Whig/Tory
William Pitt the Younger	19 December 1783	14 March 1801	Tory

Pitt had a rich voice and was an effective speaker: cool, incisive and a master of reasoned argument. He was rarely emotive but was a very impressive speaker who used a wide vocabulary. For example, when speaking of the American War, he called it 'most accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unnatural, unjust and diabolical'. Pitt was most concerned about the American War and in 1782 he moved for a Select Committee to consider a reform of parliament with the intention of consolidating middle-class power and restricting the influence of Crown; the motion was defeated. He spoke rarely until 1783 when he became PM ,and he refused 'minor office' under Rockingham. Pitt was influenced by Shelburne and was never a democrat. He also had powerful friends.

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/pitt.html

http://www.britannia.com/gov/primes/prime16.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pitt_the_younger.shtml

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK ON PITT.