1-627-855 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

King William IV, Lord Henry Brougham and Lord Charles Grey, 1832. On 7th May 1832, Prime Minister Grey and Henry Brougham met the king and asked him to create a large number of Whig peers in order to get their Reform Bill passed in the House of Lords. Following William's refusal, Grey's government resigned and William IV asked the leader of the Tories, the Duke of Wellington, to form a new government. However, a number of Tories were unwilling to join a cabinet that was in opposition to the views of the vast majority of the people in Britain, and so William was forced to ask Grey to return to office. Once again Lord Grey asked the king to create a large number of new Whig peers. This time William consented and iwhen the Lords heard the news, they agreed to pass the Reform Act.