Wellington caretaker ministry

King William IV had dismissed the Whig government of Lord Melbourne on 14 November 1834 and asked Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, to form a government but he declined, instead recommending Sir Robert Peel.

Peel was in Sardinia at the time, so the Duke of Wellington took control of the government in a caretaker capacity[1] until Peel returned and was able to form his government on 10 December.

During the caretaker government there was no Cabinet.

[2]

Daguerreotype of Wellington, aged 74 or 75, by Antoine Claudet , 1844. This is the earliest photograph known to have been taken of anyone who had been the British prime minister.