Voting Station

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland

Please vote to return to collections.

World Leader

The Resume

    (April 14, 1738-October 30, 1809)
    Born in Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
    Birth name was William Bentinck
    Two-time Prime Minister (April 12-December 18, 1783; March 31, 1807-October 4, 1809)

Why he might be annoying:

    During his first term as Prime Minister, he was widely viewed as a figurehead, with Lord North and Charles James Fox considered the real leaders.
    During his second tenure as Prime Minister, he was too old and too ill to actively run the government and largely left his ministers free to do as they wanted.
    Given the lack of oversight, his ministers frequently clashed, culminating in a duel between George Canning, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Lord Castlereagh, Secretary for War and the Colonies (September 21, 1809).
    Despite having an annual income of £17,000 (equivalent to over £500,000 today), he left debts of £52,000 at his death, forcing his son and heir to sell several properties.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He held a title of every degree of British nobility: Duke and Earl of Portland, Marquess of Titchfield, Viscount Woodstock, and Baron of Cirencester.
    He was owner and namesake of the Portland vase (considered one of the finest examples of Roman cameo glass art), which he left to the British Museum on a long-term loan.
    He was the great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying