Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–1835).

Peel entered the Cabinet as home secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "bobbies" and "peelers".

After a brief period out of office he returned as home secretary under his political mentor the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as Leader of the House of Commons.

Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto (December 1834), laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based.

After the outbreak of the Great Irish Famine, his decision to join with Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws led to his resignation as prime minister in 1846.

Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed his stance and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation.

He carried Catholic Emancipation; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism.

His sponsor for the election (besides his father) was the chief secretary for Ireland, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next 25 years.

[24] Peel's Bill planned to return British currency to the gold standard, reversing the Bank Restriction Act 1797, within four years (it was actually accomplished by 1821).

By autumn 1828, the Chief Secretary for Ireland was alarmed by the extent of civil disorder and the prospect of a rebellion[35] if O'Connell were barred from Parliament.

[36] Peel lost his seat in a by-election in February 1829 to Ultra-Tory Robert Inglis, but soon found another by moving to a rotten borough, Westbury, retaining his Cabinet position.

Although unpopular at first, they proved very successful in cutting crime in London,[44] and, by 1857, all cities in Britain were obliged to form their own police forces.

However, what are now commonly known as the Peelian Principles were not written by him but were instead produced by Charles Reith in his 1948 book, A Short History of the British Police, as a nine-point summary of the 1829 "Instructions".

[53] The Whigs formed a compact with Daniel O'Connell's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills.

On 7 April 1835, Whig MP Ralph Bernal brought forward a report critical of Peel's administration of the Church of Ireland's revenues and proposed reforms.

After Peel's resignation, King William IV invited Lord Melbourne to form a new government, allowing the Whigs to return to power.

These self-described 'moderate Whigs' were led by former cabinet ministers Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, and Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet.

[62] Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders.

[64] Peel came to office during an economic recession which had seen a slump in world trade and a budget deficit of £7.5 million run up by the Whigs.

[75] Tory agriculturalists were sceptical of the extent of the problem,[76] and Peel reacted slowly to the famine, famously stating in October 1846 (already in opposition): "There is such a tendency to exaggeration and inaccuracy in Irish reports that delay in acting on them is always desirable".

Many of his MPs had taken to voting against him, and the rupture within the party between liberals and paternalists, which had been so damaging in the 1820s but masked by the issue of parliamentary reform in the 1830s, was brought to the surface over the Corn Laws.

[88] Russell could not manage public distribution system during Irish Famine even though subsidized food from USA was made available in Ireland.

The horse stumbled on top of him, and he died three days later on 2 July at the age of 62 due to a broken collarbone rupturing his subclavian vessels.

Historian Boyd Hilton wrote that he was portrayed as:The great Conservative patriot: a pragmatic gradualist, as superb in his grasp of fundamental issues as he was adroit in handling administrative detail, intelligent enough to see through abstract theories, a conciliator who put nation before party and established consensus politics.

A proud, stubborn, and quick-tempered man he had a passion for creative achievement; and the latter part of his life was dominated by his deep concern for the social condition of the country.

Though his great debating and administrative talents secured him an outstanding position in Parliament, his abnormal sensitivity and coldness of manner debarred him from popularity among his political followers, except for the small circle of his intimate friends.

As an administrator he was one of the greatest public servants in British history; in politics he was a principal architect of the modern conservative tradition.

He also commissioned a number of paintings by contemporary British artists including A Frost Scene by William Collins, Napoleon Musing at St Helena by Benjamin Robert Haydon and John Knox Preaching Before the Lords of Congregation by David Wilkie.

[108] The biggest commissions Peel handed out were to Sir Thomas Lawrence, the President of the Royal Academy, who painted fifteen portraits for him between 1820 and his death in 1830.

[109] Peel displayed his Old Masters in his London residence at Whitehall Gardens, while Lawrence's portraits were located in a dedicated gallery at Drayton Manor.