Whig Junto - Citizendia

The Whig Junto is the name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig party and often the government, during the reigns of William III and Anne. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of

The Whig Junto proper consisted of John Somers, later Baron Somers; Charles Montagu, later Earl of Halifax; Thomas Wharton, later Marquess of Wharton; and Edward Russell, later Earl of Orford. John Somers 1st Baron Somers, PC, FRS ( 4 March 1651 &ndash 26 April 1716) was Lord High Chancellor of England Charles Montagu 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, PC, FRS ( 16 April 1661 &ndash 19 May 1715) was an English Thomas Wharton 1st Marquess of Wharton PC (August 1648 &ndash April 12 1715) was an English nobleman and politician Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell 1st Earl of Orford, PC (1653 &ndash 26 November 1727) was the First Lord of the Admiralty under They came to prominence due to the favour of the opportunistic éminence grise, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, and during the reign of Queen Anne, Sunderland's son, the 3rd Earl, would join their ranks. Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland KG PC ( September 5 1641 &ndash September 28 1702) was an English statesman Charles Spencer 3rd Earl of Sunderland (c 1674&ndash 19 April 1722) was an English statesman Other figures prominent around the edges of the Junto include Sir John Trenchard and Thomas Tollemache. Sir John Trenchard ( 30 March 1640 - 27 April 1695) English politician belonging to an old Dorset family Thomas Tollemache ( Talmash or Tolmach) (c 1651 – 1694 was a English soldier the second son of Sir Lionel Tollemache of Helmingham

Somers, Wharton, Russell and Montagu were elected to the House of Commons in 1689 and were granted minor office. Their effectiveness in the Commons brought them Sunderland's attention. The Junto began to dominate the ministry from the time of the resignation of the Tory Secretary of State Lord Nottingham in 1693, communicating to the King and Sunderland through the intermediary of the Whig Secretary of State, the Duke of Shrewsbury. Daniel Finch 2nd Earl of Nottingham 7th Earl of Winchilsea ( July 2 1647 &ndash January 1 1730) son of Heneage Finch 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles Talbot 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG, PC ( 24 July 1660 &ndash 1 February 1718) was the only son of the 11th However as the members of the Junto entered the Lords — Somers was made Lord Keeper in 1693 and was promoted to a barony four years later; Wharton succeeded his father as Lord Wharton in 1696 and Russell was created Earl of Orford in 1697 — their hold on the Commons weakened and by 1700 the Junto was largely out of power. In 1701, Somers, Orford and Halifax were impeached but survived the attack and late in the year seemed set to return to power in order to help the king rally support for the War of the Spanish Succession. In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714 several European powers combined to stop French succession to the Spanish throne and what would likely have been a resulting

William's death in March of 1702 delayed their return as Queen Anne, who had high tory sympathies, detested them and refused to include them in the ministry, which was dominated by Tories. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of At this time, with the elder Sunderland dead, the Junto's connections to his son, who was the son-in-law of the Queen's favorite the Duke of Marlborough, proved useful, as did the Junto's support of the war, in contrast to Tory ambivalence. In 1705 Somers's protege Lord Cowper was made Lord Keeper and in 1706 Sunderland became a Secretary of State. William Cowper 1st Earl Cowper, FRS (c 1665 &ndash October 10, 1723) Lord Chancellor of England was the son of Sir William Cowper The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great After the resignation of Harley in 1708, Marlborough and his ally the Lord Treasurer Godolphin became more and more dependent on the Junto, who returned to office with Somers as Lord President, Wharton as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Orford as First Lord of the Admiralty. Robert Harley 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer ( 5 December 1661 &ndash 21 May 1724) was an English statesman of the Stuart Sidney Godolphin first Earl of Godolphin (c 1645 &ndash September 15, 1712) was a leading British politician of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth

The ministry's increasing dependence on the hated Junto Whigs caused the Queen's relationship with the Marlboroughs and Godolphin to sour. In 1710 Godolphin and the Junto Whigs were forced from power. The Junto led opposition to the new ministry's peace policy from the House of Lords, leading to the creation of new peers to prevent this opposition from voting down the peace treaty. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords"

The Junto came back to power after the accession of George I in 1714 but most of the members died early in the new reign - Wharton and Halifax in 1715, Somers the next year, while Orford and Sunderland, the survivors, soon fell out with each other with Orford not holding office after 1717. George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless Year 1714 ( MDCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

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