April 4, 1721

Robert Walpole

Robert Walpole becomes First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer

There was no inaugural ceremony for Britain's first prime minister. The press merely reported that a commission was being prepared for two existing offices.

3 April 1721: the Treasury seals

On 3 April 1721 — not 4 April, as the date is often given — Robert Walpole received the seals of office as First Lord of the Treasury. He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer at the same time; the two offices frequently went together in this period.

It was his second turn at both. He had held them from 1715 to 1717.

The vacancy the South Sea Bubble made

The South Sea Bubble had discredited leading politicians. James Stanhope died and the Earl of Sunderland's position collapsed amid scandal, leaving Walpole as the administration's strongest parliamentary figure.

George I made the appointments. What followed was initially a partnership with Charles Townshend, Walpole's brother-in-law and Secretary of State, rather than an uncontested one-man cabinet.

A title that began as an insult

No patent appointed Walpole to a new office called Prime Minister. Historians conventionally date his de facto premiership from these appointments, running 1721 to 1742.

The term "prime minister" was initially used as criticism, and Walpole later denied that he was a sole or prime minister.

Within two weeks a supportive newspaper listed government posts held by Walpole, his sons, brothers and brother-in-law — the human machinery behind the "Robinocracy".

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited Date corrected

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

Date corrected. The research places this at 1721-04-03.

What the sources leave uncertain

The best-supported appointment date is 3 April 1721. The listed 4 April date appears to derive from secondary chronology errors, not a calendar-style conversion.
Calling Walpole “prime minister” is retrospective. He received established offices on 3 April; no patent appointed him to a new office called Prime Minister.
Historians debate the precise point at which his political predominance became a premiership, although 1721–1742 is the standard convention.