Grey, Earl (1764-1845), Charles Grey, was prime minister of the United Kingdom from November 1830 to July 1834. A Whig politician, Earl Grey oversaw considerable political reform during his time in office, encouraging the development of democracy in the United Kingdom. Grey’s administration passed the Reform Act, which gave the right to vote to more British people than ever before. The House of Commons passed the act in 1832, but the House of Lords rejected it. Grey asked King William IV to create more peers to overcome the opposition. William refused, and Grey resigned. He returned to office with the power to create the required number of peers, and the opposition collapsed. The bill became law in 1832. In 1833, Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire.
Charles Grey was born on March 13, 1764, in Fallodon, Northumberland, England. He was one of nine children born to General Charles Grey, First Earl Grey, and his wife Elizabeth. Young Charles was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1786, he entered Parliament as representative for Northumberland in the House of Commons. Grey married Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby in 1794. The couple had 16 children. In 1807, he succeeded to the title of Second Earl Grey and took his seat in the House of Lords. Grey became an opponent of Prime Minister William Pitt and an associate of Charles Fox, leader of the Radical Whigs in Parliament.
Grey is remembered for a blend of tea flavored with bergamot oil. The tea became so popular during his time in office that British tea merchants named it Earl Grey. Grey died at Howick Hall, Northumberland, on July 17, 1845.
