William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne of no confidence initiated by Conservative MP John Stuart-Wortley, Melbourne's government fell, and he resigned as Prime Minister on 30 August 1841. After Melbourne resigned permanently in August 1841, Victoria continued to write to him; but eventually the correspondence ceased as it was deemed to be inappropriate. It has been observed that Melbourne's role faded as Victoria increasingly relied on her new husband Prince Albert. Though weakened, Melbourne survived a stroke fourteen months after his departure from politics. In retirement, he lived at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire. He died on 24 November 1848 at Brocket Hall and was buried at nearby
Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne Besford in the Duchess' novel "The Sylph". By contrast, she and the Duchess' sister, Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough, disliked each other intensely, and Lady Melbourne's enmity later extended to Henrietta's daughter, Lady Caroline Lamb. True to her practical nature, she did not allow this dislike to interfere with her support for her son William's marriage to Caroline, which was a social step up for the Lamb family, who were still, by the strict social standards of the age, considered to be newcomers to polite society. By the late 1770s, Lady Melbourne was romantically involved with George Wyndham, 3rd Earl