List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Before the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, the Treasury of England was led by the Lord High Treasurer. By the late Tudor period, the Lord High Treasurer was regarded as one of the Great Officers of State, and was often (though not always) the dominant figure in government: Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (lord high treasurer, 1547–1549), served as lord protector to his young nephew King Edward VI; William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (lord high treasurer, 1572–1598), was the dominant minister to Queen Elizabeth I; Burghley's son Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, succeeded his father as Chief Minister to Elizabeth (1598–1603) and was eventually appointed by King James I as lord high treasurer (1608–1612). By the late Stuart period, the Treasury was often run not by a single individual (i.e., the lord high treasurer) but by a commission of lords of the Treasury, led by the first lord of the Treasury. The last lords high treasurer, Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (1702–1710) and Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1711–1714), ran the government of Queen Anne. == From 1707 to 1721 ==

Following the succession of George I in 1714, the arrangement of a commission of lords of the Treasury (as opposed to a single lord high treasurer) became permanent. For the next three years, the government was headed by Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department. Subsequently, Lords Stanhope and Sunderland ran the government jointly, with Stanhope managing foreign affairs and Sunderland domestic. Stanhope died in February 1721 and Sunderland resigned two months later; Townshend and Robert Walpole were then invited to form the next government. From that point, the holder of the of first lord also usually (albeit unofficially) held the status of prime minister. It was not until the Edwardian era that the title was constitutionally recognised. The prime minister still holds the office of first lord by constitutional convention, the only exceptions being the Earl of Chatham and the Marquess of Salisbury. == Since 1721 ==

Prime ministers • George I • George II • George III • George IV • William IV • Victoria • Edward VII • George V • Edward VIII • George VI • Elizabeth II • Charles III }} • • • • • • • • • }} }} == Living former prime ministers ==

File:0O2A1317 (54138449867) (cropped).jpg|John Major(1990–1997) File:Tony Blair - Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph 2025.jpg|Tony Blair(1997–2007) File:Gordon Brown - Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph 2025 (cropped closer).jpg|Gordon Brown(2007–2010) File:Remembrance Sunday in Whitehall 2024-11-10-11-01-B (cropped).jpg|David Cameron(2010–2016) File:Official portrait of Theresa May (cropped).jpg|Theresa May(2016–2019) File:Remembrance Sunday in Whitehall 2024-11-10-11-26-D (cropped).jpg|Boris Johnson(2019–2022) File:Liz Truss (54346036307) (cropped).jpg|Liz Truss(2022) File:Remembrance Sunday in Whitehall 2024-11-10-11-26-C (cropped).jpg|Rishi Sunak(2022–2024) Currently, there are eight living former prime ministers of the United Kingdom. The most recent death of a former prime minister was that of Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990) on 8 April 2013. == Disputed prime ministers ==

Due to the gradual evolution of the post of prime minister, the title is applied to early prime ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, and James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, are sometimes listed as prime ministers. Bath was invited to form a ministry by George II of Great Britain| when Henry Pelham resigned in 1746, as was Waldegrave in 1757 after the dismissal of William Pitt the Elder, who dominated the affairs of government during the Seven Years' War. Neither was able to command sufficient parliamentary support to form a government; Bath stepped down after two days and Waldegrave after four. Modern academic consensus does not consider either man to have held office as prime minister; they are therefore listed separately. • List notes == Timeline ==