According to Wikipedia, the Earl of Bath "is sometimes stated to have been Prime Minister, for the shortest term ever (two days) in 1746, although most modern sources reckon that he cannot be considered to have held the office." Wikipedia does not include the Earl of Bath in its List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.
I originally copied this list of Prime Ministers – Earl of Bath and all – from the Guinness Book of Answers. At the time I didn't even know about the Internet, never mind Wikipedia, so I was unaware of this controversy. Now that I am aware of it, I'm inclined to keep the Earl in my list, if only for completeness. If anyone considers him as a past Prime Minister, we quizzers need to know about him!
The Earl of Bath's ministry, if such it was, was an interruption to that of Henry Pelham, who headed the government in partnership with his elder brother Thomas, Duke of Newcastle, as Secretary of State. According to Wikipedia: "Being strongly in favour of peace, Pelham carried on the War of the Austrian Succession with languor and indifferent success, but the country, wearied of the interminable struggle, was disposed to acquiesce in his foreign policy almost without a murmur. King George II, thwarted in his own favourite schemes, made overtures in February 1746 to Lord Bath, but his purpose was upset by the resignation of the two Pelhams (Henry and Newcastle), who, after a two–day hiatus in which Bath and Carteret (now earl Granville) proved unable to form a ministry, resumed office at the king's request. One of their terms was to insist that the king should have 'total confidence' in a ministry; rather than partial grudging acceptance of the Whigs."
Elsewhere, Wikipedia records that "On 10 February 1746, Pelham's administration resigned en masse, and the king turned to Bath to form an alternative ministry. He accepted the seals of office and made nominations to the most senior posts, but it quickly became clear that he did not have enough support to form a viable government, and after '48 hours, three quarters, seven minutes, and eleven seconds' he abandoned the attempt, forcing the king to accept Pelham's terms for resuming office. As the office of Prime Minister did not then officially exist, it is a matter of controversy whether Bath should be considered to have been Prime Minister by virtue of his two–day ministry. Bath's failure to form a government brought him much ridicule."
Pelham's 'broad bottomed ministry' (so called because of its perceived cross–party appeal) continued until 1754, when Henry Pelham was succeeded by his elder brother – under whom William Pitt (the Elder) is widely regarded as the main influence on policy. Newcastle was widely blamed for Britain's poor start to the Seven Years' War; following the loss of Minorca in 1756 some even called for him to be executed. He managed to avoid this fate, but he was replaced in November 1756 by the Duke of Devonshire.
By this time Pitt was one of Newcastle's strongest critics, and he joined Devonshire's coalition as Southern Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. But the administration was eventually brought down by a variety of factors, including the opposition of George II and the alleged mishandling of the trial and execution of Admiral John Byng. It was replaced by Newcastle and Pitt in an unlikely partnership, and this government steered Britain to ultimate victory in the Seven Years' War.
George II died in 1760, and was succeeded by his by his grandson George III, who was suspicious of Newcastle. In 1762 both Newcastle and Pitt were replaced with the Earl of Bute; according to Wikipedia, this was "arguably the last occasion upon which a British monarch was able to remove a prime minister purely out of personal animosity".
© Haydn Thompson 2020