ABSTRACT
Shelburne had justified reputation for arrogance: he could be aloof and cutting. Indeed, Shelburne's views on matter helped to ensure that although his interest in reform and his somewhat radical views were unwelcome to the King, nevertheless, he was acceptable as a first minister, certainly more so than any Rockinghamite. They had important policy differences, for example over Shelburne's support for parliamentary reform, and in 1782 not least over crucial peace negotiations; and George III was confident that Shelburne would not join with Rockingham in putting pressure on him. However, Shelburne was more like Pitt the Elder, to whom George III had similarly turned in 1766, than like Pitt the Younger, to whom he was to turn in December 1783. Although Pitt the Elder and Shelburne differed over policies, not least over Shelburne's interest in reform, they were alike both in their hostility to party and in their inability to work successfully with others: the two aspects were psychologically related.
