Privy Council Ministry

The Privy Council ministry was a short-lived reorganization of English government that was reformed to place the Ministry under the control of the Privy Council in April 1679, due to events in that time.

It followed years of widespread discontent with government, which had been consistently and clandestine since the Restoration and was now mired in conflict between Parliament and King Charles. Sir William Temple, England's foremost diplomat and greatly respected both at home and abroad, was recalled at the beginning of 1679 and became the King's closest advisor. Elections to the House of Commons returned a majority for the opponents of the government, the Earl of Danby was forced from office and Temple led the formation of a new ministry, aiming to reconcile the conflicting factions of the day.

Temple believed the King should not exercise absolute power but was also uncomfortable with the increasing prominence of Parliament. He sought to create a less divisive body that could carry popular support without trying to dictate to the King. He proposed that the King should no longer be advised by any one individual or by a select committee of the Privy Council, but by a reformed Council as a whole. The new Council would have thirty members, rather than fifty: Fifteen would hold paid high office in government, the Church or the Judiciary; fifteen would be independent, representing the Parliamentary factions and chosen for their wealth (which Temple felt was the source of power). The King would give full consideration to the opinions of the Council, which would be free to discuss and vote on all matters. The King duly dismissed the existing Council; news of this, and that the new government would include members of the country party and the King's popular, illegitimate son, Monmouth, was widely welcomed. However, Charles took against the scheme when Temple insisted on the inclusion of Viscount Halifax, whom he disliked personally. He agreed but insisted, to Temple's alarm, that the Earl of Shaftesbury, the government's most vociferous critic, should also be included. This sabotaged Temple's Council, ensuring irreconcilable division.

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