In 1790 Grenville, by now one of his cousin Pitt’s two most influential coadjutors in government, was returned unopposed for Buckinghamshire on the family interest, but he did not take his seat in the new House of Commons. Pitt arranged his elevation to the peerage, which took place on the day Parliament met, in order to take the lead in the Lords and to exercise a restraining influence on Lord Chancellor Thurlow. The Duke of Richmond, piqued at being passed over for the role, argued that Grenville would put himself politically hors de combat, but he was apparently quite content with the move.1Geo. III Corresp. i. 635, 636; Buckingham, Court and Cabinets, ii. 179-81; PRO 30/8/171, f. 157.
As a peer Grenville, an able, serious-minded, reserved and austere man, widely known as ‘Boguey’,2Minto, i. 140. remained a major political figure for most of this period and achieved the highest office. He died 12 Jan. 1834.