In 1852 he was elected MP for Portsmouth, and from 1855 to 1858 he served as Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston.
It was entirely in character that on her deathbed she urged her daughter Emily to be faithful, not to her husband, Lord Cowper but to her lover, Lord Palmerston ( Emily and Palmerston eventually married after Cowper's death).
The Jardine Paper was the proposal sent by Dr. William Jardine to Lord Palmerston to guide the British government in its plans to wage war with China which eventually was called the First Opium War.
In 1860, Leinster hosted the first visit to Ireland by the All-England XI on the club's field in Lord Palmerston's demesne.
Her own affairs, though conducted discreetly, were said to be numerous: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, was thought to be one of her lovers.
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George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen treated the vote as a confidence vote and resigned leading to the appointment of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.
He admired Palmerston and respected Lord Aberdeen, and was of considerable use to both; and it was Lord Aberdeen himself who, in 1845, told him of the impending repeal of the Corn Laws, an incident round which many incorrect stories have gathered.
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865), British Foreign minister and Prime Minister