Archibald Primrose

Archibald Primrose was a Liberal politician, member of the House of Lords, and prime minister of the United Kingdom.


History

Archibald was the son of Archbald Primrose (same name) and the grandson of Archbald Primrose (same name), earl of Rosebury. His father died in 1851, so from a very young age he was known by the courtesy title of lord of Dalmeny.

His grandfather then died in 1868, leaving him to inherit the earldom and a seat in the House of Lords. (Note that the earldom, as a Scottish peerage, did not entitle a seat in the Lords; but the subsidiary barony of Rosebury, created in 1828 in the English peerage, did.)

Primrose was an ardent imperialist and was appointed foreign secretary under Gladstone. Furthermore, he succeeded Gladstone as leader of the Liberals and as prime minister.

In June 1895, the government narrowly lost a vote on army supply. Primrose chose to interpret this as a vote of confidence, and dissolved the Parliament. The Liberals then lost the election in a landslide, and he resigned as party leader the next year.

His imperialist positions made him an outcast in the party as it evolved under Campbell-Bannerman.


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UnitedKingdom/ArchibaldPrimrose (last edited 2025-04-18 21:40:16 by DominicRicottone)