In the immediate aftermath of the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the monarchy was unable to function as the new King was in his domains in Hanover and did not know of his accession. As a stopgap, Parliament elected
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield Regent, or "acting king" until the new monarch arrived to take his crown. Later,
George,
Prince of Wales reigned as regent for six months from July 1716 to January 1717 when the King went to Hanover. In the early part of the reign of
George I, who could not speak English, the cabinet began meeting without the monarch present. Following the succession of
George I and the resignation of the Duke of Shrewsbury in 1714, the office of Lord High Treasurer went into permanent commission, its function undertaken by a commission of Lords of the Treasury, chaired by the First Lord of the Treasury, rather than by an individual Lord High Treasurer. From 1714 to 1717 the ministry was led by
Viscount Townshend, who was nominally
Northern Secretary; the
Earl of Halifax, the
Earl of Carlisle and
Robert Walpole successively served alongside Townshend as nominal First Lord of the Treasury. From 1717 to 1721 Lords
Stanhope (First Lord 1717–1718) and
Sunderland (First Lord 1718–1721) led the administration jointly, with Stanhope managing foreign affairs and Sunderland managing home affairs. Stanhope died in February 1721 and Sunderland resigned in April 1721; Townshend and Walpole returned to office. Thus the First Lord of the Treasury came to be the most powerful minister and the prototype of
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and its dominions.
George I ==Timeline==