16 April). Forced by George I upon the Prince of Wales as godfather to his first-born son, Newcastle was insulted by the prince after the christening, on 28 Nov. 1717 [see George II]. On 30 April 1718 he was installed K.G. at Windsor. Throughout the reign of George I and his successor he was one of the lords justices who composed the council of regency during the sovereign's periodical visits to Hanover. On 21 Dec. 1721 he was appointed a governor of the Charterhouse. Newcastle resigned the lord-chamberlaincy on succeeding Lord Carteret as secretary of state for the southern department in Walpole's coalition administration on 2 April 1724. He held, jointly with Townshend, secretary of state for the northern department, the seals of secretary of state for Scotland, from the dismissal of John Ker, duke of Roxburghe, on 25 Aug. 1725, until Townshend's resignation on 15 May 1730. William Stanhope, baron Harrington (afterwards Earl of Harrington) [q. v.], then received the seals of the northern department, while the Scottish seals were given to Charles Douglas, earl of Selkirk. In April 1726 Newcastle was chosen recorder of Nottingham, and on 6 June 1729 was appointed steward, feodary, and bailiff of the duchy of Lancaster in the county of Sussex.
George II, on his accession, pronounced Newcastle unfit to be chamberlain to a petty German prince, but continued him in office. At court he was nicknamed ‘Permis’ in mockery of his sheepish way of prefacing what he had to say to the queen and princesses with ‘Est-il permis?’ and became the butt of Lord Hervey's caustic wit. At the council-board and in parliament he was, perforce, during the period of Walpole's undisputed ascendency, little more than his instrument and echo. He had, however, provided himself with an excellent mentor in Philip Yorke (afterwards Lord Hardwicke) [q. v.], who never forgot, even on the woolsack, that he owed his start in public life to the Pelham interest.
As Walpole's power began to decline, Newcastle began to coquet with the opposition. In 1737 he followed Carteret's lead by introducing, on occasion of the murder of Captain Porteous [q. v.], a bill of pains and penalties against the city of Edinburgh. The bill embarrassed Walpole; and one of Queen Caroline's latest acts was to send for Newcastle and severely censure his conduct. He also aggravated the differences with Spain by the high tone which he took in his memorial to the court of Madrid on occasion of the merchants' petition; and in other ways contributed to increase Walpole's difficulties. On the death of the queen he aspired to establish a separate interest at court by flattering the Princess Amelia. When Walpole offered the privy seal to Lord Hervey, Newcastle talked of resigning, but allowed himself to be overruled by Lord Hardwicke. He was mainly responsible for the desultory, ineffectual character of the naval operations, which led to perpetual wrangles with Walpole, whom he nevertheless loyally defended on Carteret's motion for his removal on 13 Feb. 1740–1. Horace Walpole's imputation to him of deliberate treachery to his chief cannot now be substantiated.
On the outbreak of the war of the Austrian succession, Newcastle espoused the cause of Maria Theresa, and denounced the treaty of Hanover (providing for the neutrality of the electorate) as unconstitutional and perfidious [see George II]. On Walpole's resignation, and under his guidance, he managed the negotiations which resulted in the formation of Lord Wilmington's administration. Retaining the seals of the southern department himself, he transferred those of the northern department from Harrington to Carteret, and the privy seal from Lord Hervey to Earl Gower. Harrington became president of the council, and Hardwicke retained the great seal. The virtual prime minister was Carteret, notwithstanding the fact that on Wilmington's death, on 2 July 1743, Henry Pelham succeeded to the first lordship of the treasury. The Hanoverian colour of Carteret's policy was a favourite theme with the opposition, and Newcastle discerned in the resulting unpopularity the means of ousting Carteret and succeeding to his position of predominance. When, therefore, the treaty of Hanau was transmitted for ratification, he, as virtual head of the regency, secured its summary rejection in July 1743, notwithstanding that thereby the fruits of the victory of Dettingen were entirely thrown away. On Carteret's return to England, Newcastle united against him a powerful junto within the cabinet, which was supported in parliament by the opposition. He thus forced the king to abandon the idea of taking command of the troops in Flanders. The ill-success of the subsequent operations under Marshal Wade [see Wade, George II 1673–1748] strengthened the hands of the coalition, and on 1 Nov. 1744 Newcastle laid before the king a memorial (drafted by Hardwicke) which extorted from him the dismissal of Carteret [see George II]. Carteret disposed of, Newcastle adopted his policy without improving on his expedients. The fortune of war continued adverse to the allies. The king lost his temper, and abused Newcastle in the
