Grey (1764–1845) had resigned as prime minister in July, following a series of resignations within the cabinet and moves by members of his cabinet to undermine the renewal of the Irish Disturbances Act. William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848) and a former Tory minister, was appointed in his place.

See Boyd Hilton, A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People: England 1783-1846 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 496 and Norman McCord, British History 1815-1906 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), pp. 140-141.