It was time for Melbourne. But not a long time, as the king decided to try the old royal trick of getting rid of a prime Minister, the last time a monarch attempted that. So, like Napoleon, Peel got a hundred days.

What’s more this episode takes a look at the curious private life of Melbourne, using the word 'curious' in a broad sense, extending as far as an Epstein-like appetite. In addition, we’ll talk about the search for Peel in Rome, in an expedition executed expeditiously, not that Peel showed any gratitude for it, though it ended with him back in London as Prime Minister.

Illustration: William Lamb, Second Viscount Melbourne, by Sir Edwin Landseer, at the time he was Prime Minister in 1836. National Portrait Gallery 3050.

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License