Robert Peel In 1830 the Whigs finally returned to power and Peel became a member of the Opposition for the first time. After successive election defeats, leadership of the Conservative Party gradually passed from Wellington to Peel, and when King William IV asked Wellington to become Prime Minister in November 1834, he declined and Peel was selected instead, with Wellington serving as caretaker until Peel took office. Peel then issued the Tamworth Manifesto (December 1834), laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel
William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel William James Robert Peel, 3rd Earl Peel, (born 3 October 1947), styled Viscount Clanfield until 1969, was a Conservative peer from 15 May 1973 until October 2006 when, on his appointment as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, he became a crossbench (non-party) member of the House of Lords. Lord Peel is the eldest son of Arthur Peel, 2nd Earl Peel, and Kathleen McGrath, daughter of Michael McGrath. He is a great-great-grandson of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. He attended Ampleforth College, and then went on to the University of Tours in France and the