Robert Harley

Queen Anne appointed Robert Harley as Lord Treasurer and created him Earl of Oxford. He became the head of the Tory ministry, overseeing the end of the War of the Spanish Succession and the negotiation of the Treaty of Utrecht.

Harley's ministry negotiated the Treaty of Utrecht, ending the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty recognized Philip V as King of Spain, ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain, and marked Britain's rise as a major colonial power.

After the death of Queen Anne and the accession of George I, the new Whig government impeached Harley for high treason. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two years before being acquitted, but his political career was ended.