North was born on April 13th, 1732 to the 1st Earl of Guilford and his wife Lucy Montague. He began his education at Eton in 1742 and he 1748 he entered Trinity College Oxford where he was granted an MA in 1750. As with many young gentlemen of his day, he went on a tour of the continent after graduation and in North's case he visited Austria, Italy and France and finally returned to England in 1753. His desire to become a MP was easily realized due to the fact that his family controlled a rotten borough at Banbury where they essentially were able to choose the winner for he riding. He first went to Parliament in 1754 and in 1756 he married the daughter of a Somerset aristocrat, Anne Speke. In 1757 he made his first speech in the House of Commons and 2  years later  was taken into the Newcastle ministry, a relative of his, with an appointment as Lord of the Treasury. North was able to survive the fall of Newcastle and stayed in power during Bute's and Grenville's ministries. North did however refuse Rockingham's  offer of a post in Ireland and resigned. He returned to power in 1766 during the Chatham ministry in the position of Privy Counsellor. This was quickly followed by advancement into the positions of Chancellor of  the Exchequer in 1767 and Leader in the House of Commons in 1768. North took Grafton's direction in declaring John Wilke's election void which trigger the Petitioning Movement against this type of arbitrary actions.

The pressure on his cousin Grafton grew and in 1770 he resigned from office whereon North was named Prime Minister. North immediately dropped 5 of the Townsend Duties which applied to the American colonies, hoping to pacify their complaints concerning lawmaking in London without colonial input. He did however leave a 5th duty in place, the tax on tea, which became a symbol of American resentment. North also felt that the minutes from the House of Commons should be allowed to be

printed for public distribution but after the House declared that the publication of their debates must be considered an invasion of their privilege, North backed away from the issue and let the issue die a natural death. North was at first a popular PM with George the III and the people.  He was created Knight of the Garter in 1772, which was unusual for a commoner at that time, and was also elected to the office of Chancellor of Oxford University. He worked with George the III to pass the Royal Marriages Act, which prevented members of the Royal family from marrying with the consent of the monarch. Over the next few years his administration passed the Regulating Act for India, the Tea Act, the Coercive Act and the Quebec Act. All of these were viewed by the American colonist as acts directly opposed to their interests and rights.

These actions and others trigger the declaration of Independence in America in 1776. George III felt that North was his champion against the outrageous demands of his rebellious subjects in America and Ireland and that to be rid of him, or to allow him to resign would be a sign of weakness and led to a weakening of his position as a whole.

It was not until March of 1782 that under pressure from all sides and after disastrous events in America, North was permitted to resign his post of Prime Minister. North was to return to office fairly quickly as Home secretary in 1783, after Shelburne was forced from office and replace by the Duke of Portland. This coalition ministry did not last long and by December 1783 their support had dissipated and they fell from office. North's eyesight began to fail him and by 1788 he was virtually blind.

In 1790 North became the 2nd Earl of  Guilford when his father died and was able, with help, to take his seat in the House of Lords. He was however to follow his father a few years later when on August 5th 1792 he too passed away and was buried near his home in Oxfordshire. His home, Wroxton Abbey is today a school for Americans.