Henry John Templeton (1784 – 1865) 3rd Viscount Palmerston and better known as Lord Palmerston, was one of Britain’s greatest leaders. In 1855, he became the United Kingdom’s first Liberal Party prime minister, as well as the oldest person to ever become prime minister for the first time, when he assumed office that year at age seventy. Palmerston also became the only British prime minister to die in office, when, as seen below, he had a heart attack mid-coitus with a maid.
A Randy Old Goat of a Prime Minister
Lord Palmerston dominated British foreign policy from 1830 to 1865, when the British Empire was at the height of its power. He served as Secretary at War from 1809 to 1828, as Foreign Secretary from 1830 to 1841 and again from 1846 to 1851, and twice as prime minister, from 1855 to 1858, and again from 1859 to 1865. In his private life, Palmerston was a randy old goat who was in the habit of getting it on whenever and wherever he could.
Lord Palmerston is the only British prime minister to have died in office, and oh what a death it was. On October 18th, 1865, the eighty-year-old Lord Palmerston, who enjoyed robust health well past his biblical three score and ten, reportedly was getting it on with a maid on a billiard table. He seems to have overexerted himself, which led to his unfortunate demise in the midst of his illicit romance, just a couple of days before he would have made it to his eighty first birthday.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Encyclopedia Britannica – Lord Palmerston
History Halls – Politicians Who Couldn’t Keep it In Their Pants: Warren G. Harding
Island Echo – The Often Controversial Life of Newport MP Lord Palmerston
