Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:Arms of Pitt the Younger.svg|upright=0.7|thumb|Arms of William Pitt the Younger]]
Pitt became known as a "three-bottle man" in reference to his heavy consumption of [[port wine]]. Each of these bottles would be around {{convert|350|ml|usoz}} in volume.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

At one point rumours emerged of an intended marriage to [[Eleanor Eden]], to whom Pitt had grown close. Pitt broke off the potential marriage in 1797, writing to her father, [[William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland|Lord Auckland]], "I am compelled to say that I find the obstacles to it decisive and insurmountable".<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

Of his social relationships, biographer [[William Hague]] writes: <blockquote>Pitt was happiest among his Cambridge companions or family. He had no social ambitions, and it was rare for him to set out to make a friend. The talented collaborators of his first 18 months in office—Beresford, Wyvil and Twining—passed in and out of his mind along with their areas of expertise. Pitt's lack of interest in enlarging his social circle meant that it did not grow to encompass any women outside his own family, a fact that produced a good deal of rumour. From late 1784, a series of satirical verses appeared in ''The Morning Herald'' drawing attention to Pitt's lack of knowledge of women: "Tis true, indeed, we oft abuse him,/Because he bends to no man;/But slander's self dares not accuse him/Of stiffness to a woman."
Others made snide references to Pitt's friendship with [[Thomas Steele (British politician)|Tom Steele]], Secretary to the Treasury. At the height of the constitutional crisis in 1784, Sheridan had compared Pitt to [[James VI and I|James I]]'s favourite, the [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|Duke of Buckingham]], a clear reference to homosexuality. Socially, Pitt preferred the company of young men, and would continue to do so into his thirties and forties. It may be that Pitt had homosexual leanings but suppressed any urge to act on them for the sake of his ambitions. He could be charming to women, but it seems certain that he rejected intimacy whenever it was proffered—and would do so publicly at a later date. In practical terms it appears that Pitt was essentially [[asexuality|asexual]] throughout his life.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3623135/He-was-something-between-God-and-man.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3623135/He-was-something-between-God-and-man.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=William | last=Hague | title=He was something between God and man | date=31 August 2004}}{{cbignore}}</ref></blockquote>