Facts and Figures: British Prime Ministers

Having just witnessed the shortest serving Prime Minister in British history, we thought we would look back at some of the facts and figures that make up the history of British government. 

As we all know, Liz Truss holds the record for the shortest unequivocal term of office, and just 50 days. George Canning sits in second place, having served more than double the amount of time of Liz Truss, and the reason his term ended is because he died.

The title of longest single term goes to Robert Walpole, with 20 years and 315 days in office. To find out more about this, check out our podcast episode coming this Friday.

The Prime Minister with the highest number of comebacks is William Gladstone, having served four terms.

Stanley Baldwin is the only prime minister to have served three sovereigns: King George V, King Edward VIII, and King George VI.

The Late Queen Elizabeth II holds the record for the highest number of Prime Ministers during a single reign, with 15 coming in and out of office; from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. 

The youngest appointed Prime Minister was William Pitt, helpfully monikered the Younger, who was 24 at the time of his appointment. The oldest being William Gladstone, who was 82 when he was elected to his fourth term.

To find out more about how the office of Prime Minister came to be, check out the parallel Podcast episode below!