Seymour became Third Naval Lord in the Second Peel ministry and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Pacific Station. In late 1844 the French Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars entered into a confrontation with Queen Pōmare IV of Tahiti and with the English missionary and consul George Pritchard, expelling the consul and establishing a French protectorate over the territory during the Franco-Tahitian War. This matter became known as the "Pritchard Affair". Seymour handled this matter tactfully and avoided a confrontation with the French Government who had already denounced Thouars' actions. Seymour later served as Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.