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
Arthur Peel (diplomat) Arthur Peel (diplomat) Sir Arthur Robert Peel (15 August 1861 – 7 October 1952) was a British diplomat who was envoy to Thailand, Brazil and Bulgaria. Arthur Robert Peel (grandson of William Yates Peel) was educated at Eton College and entered the Diplomatic Service as an attaché in 1886. He served in St Petersburg, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, The Hague, Lisbon and Montevideo, and was consul-general for the island of Crete, before being appointed Minister to Thailand (then called Siam) 1909–15, to Brazil 1915–18 and (after a year in London) to Bulgaria 1920–21. Peel was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) in