Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , née Jenyns , from 1689 to 1702 known as Countess of Marlborough , then as Duchess of Marlborough (born May 29, 1660 in Sandridge , Hertfordshire , England , † October 18, 1744 in Marlborough House , London ), was a childhood friend and Close confidante of Queen Anne and the wife of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , whose career she greatly enhanced through her influence on the Queen. She was one of the most influential women of her time.
Life
Sarah Jenyns (the spelling Jennings came up only with later authors) was born as the daughter of MP Richard Jenyns of Sandridge (1618-1668) and his wife Frances Thornhurst (1615-1693). From 1673 she lived as a lady-in-waiting to Mary of Modena in the household of the Duke of York , later King James II of England. There she became close friends with his daughter Anne, who was a few years younger. Sarah's older sisters were Frances (1648-1731), later Duchess of Tyrconnell, and Barbara († 1678), who married the lawyer Edward Griffith .
In 1677 she married the influential John Churchill. Due to his role in the Glorious Revolution , which led to the replacement of Jacob II by William III, who was married to his eldest daughter Maria . on the English throne, John Churchill was made Earl . Sarah and John Churchill also worked on Anne that she give up her right to the throne in favor of Wilhelm if Maria died before him. In doing so, they secured Wilhelm the crown for life and ensured political stability.
Despite this political support for Williams III. there were increasing differences between the king and John Churchill as well as between the English Queen Mary and her sister Anne. This ultimately led to the fact that John Churchill resigned from all offices and Sarah Churchill was forbidden by Queen Mary to appear at the royal court. Princess Anne also withdrew from the royal court.
After Anne's accession to the throne in 1702, Sarah Churchill became the most important lady-in-waiting at the royal court and exerted great influence on the queen. John Churchill, a Whigs member, has been repeatedly attacked by the Tories . In a letter that Queen Anne wrote to Sarah Churchill towards the end of 1703, in which she used aliases, she assured the couple of her loyalty:
“I will never abandon you, my dear, nor Mr. Freemann [John Churchill], nor Mr. Montgomery ( Godolphin ), but always remain your faithful servant; and the four of us must never part until death mows us down with his unwavering hand. "
However, the relationship between the two women became noticeably tense over the years. The Nobel Prize for Literature , British Prime Minister and descendant of Sarah and John Churchill, Winston Churchill wrote about it:
“Around this time (1707) Sarah's relationship with the Queen entered a precarious stage. She was made the scapegoat by her mistress for the Whigs' intrusion into the cabinet. Anna hated the Whigs from the bottom of her heart, but her ministers, with only half of the Tory party supporting her, saw no way of continuing the war (against France) without the Whigs. Sarah lost the Queen's friendship because she felt it was her duty to advise her on government policies that were consistent with Parliament. At the same time a rival appeared. As Sarah grew older, and the duties of a great lady who ruled over more power than a cabinet minister, weighed on her more and more, she sought the constant strain of the personal service to the Queen that had filled so many years of her life revoke. Anne's friends didn't have it easy. She required her companions to be around her all day and to play cards with her until late at night. Sarah was looking for a way to get rid of the burden of being together. In Abigail Hill , a poor relative, she found a suitable second occupation. She introduced her to the life of the queen as a "maid" or maid . After a while the new attendant won the queen's affection. Sarah felt relieved, spent more time in the country and devoted herself to her family "
Despite the great military success that John Churchill had achieved for the British nation in the Battle of Höchstädt , Sarah and John Churchill, now Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, went into exile in 1711. It was only after Queen Anne's death in 1714 that they returned to Great Britain and were once again welcomed to the royal court with great honors.
Construction work on Blenheim Palace , which John Churchill had received as thanks for his military success over Louis XIV , was also resumed. The Duke died in 1722 and never saw the completion of this palace. Sarah Churchill, which is now the role of the building owner held this palace, fell out with the great Baroque - architect John Vanbrugh - the construction management then took Nicholas Hawksmoor .
Sarah Churchill died in London in 1744.
Works
- An Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, from Her First Coming to Court to the Year 1710 . - London: Printed by James Bettenham, for George Hawkins, 1742
literature
- Kathleen Winifred Campbell: Sarah, duchess of Marlborough. - Little, Brown & Co., Boston 1932.
- Winston Churchill : history. Volume 3: The Age of Revolutions. Scherz & Coverts Verlag, Stuttgart 1957.
- James Falkner: Churchill, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2004 [1] (accessed June 8, 2005).
- David Green: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Collins, London 1967.
- Frances Harris: A Passion for Government. The Life of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Clarendon Press, Oxford et al. a. 1991, ISBN 0-19-820224-5 .
- AL Rowse: The early Churchills. To English Family. Harper & Bros., New York NY 1956.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Churchill, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Churchill, Sarah; Jenyns, Sarah (maiden name); Marlborough, Sarah Churchill Countess of |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Childhood friend and close confidante of Queen Anne and the wife of John Churchill |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1660 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sandridge , Hertfordshire , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 18, 1744 |
| Place of death | Marlborough House , London |