thumb|right|[[Daguerreotype of Wellington, aged 74 or 75, by Antoine Claudet, 1844. This is the earliest photograph known to have been taken of anyone who had been the British prime minister.]]
King William IV had dismissed the Whig government of Lord Melbourne on 14 November 1834 and asked Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, to form a government but he declined, instead recommending Sir Robert Peel. Peel was in Sardinia at the time, so the Duke of Wellington took control of the government in a caretaker capacity until Peel returned and was able to form his government on 10 December.
List of ministers
During the caretaker government there was no Cabinet.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Ministers
! Office
! Name
! Date
|-
! scope=row |
| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
|17 November 18349 December 1834
|-
! scope=row | Lord Chancellor
| John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst
|21 November 1834
|-
! scope=row | Chancellor of the Exchequer (interim)
| Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
|15 November 1834
|-
! scope=row rowspan=6 | Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
|rowspan=6|21 November 1834
|-
| James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn
|-
| Edward Law, 2nd Baron Ellenborough
|-
| William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough
|-
| Sir John Beckett, 2nd Baronet
|-
| Joseph Planta
|}
Notes
- Wellington was the only Secretary of State.
- As no separate Chancellor of the Exchequer had been appointed, Denman held the post pro tempore by virtue of being Lord Chief Justice.
- Most offices were in commission.