The Trouble with Duchesses in Queen Anne's Court

by Margaret Porter

'Perhaps . . . in the reign of Queen Anne ’tis a sign the power of women will increase.' Sarah Cowper, April 1702

Queen Anne by Godfrey Kneller

The average follower of English history, when confronted with the equation Queen Anne + Duchess + Trouble, would assume the resulting total to be Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Of all the non-royal females of her era, she is surely the most famous--or infamous. Sarah published various editions of her memoirs (a form of self-justification and self-defence), she's the subject of scholarly biographies and entertaining novels, she was the heroine of the television series The First Churchills, she and Anne are currently the main characters in a play on the London stage, and a film about their relationship is reportedly on the horizon.

But Anne's childhood friend, confidante, and eventual enemy was not the only duchess frequenting her court. Although the others did not leave so indelible a mark on the historic record, they are worthy of interest and scrutiny.

Elizabeth, Duchess of Somerset

 

Duchess of Somerset by Kneller

Young Elizabeth Percy seemed destined to challenge Sarah for Most Interesting Courtier. At age twelve she became Countess of Ogle, and was widowed the following year. The year after that the immensely wealthy Thomas Thynne lured her into a secret marriage. Not long afterwards he was murdered at the instigation of Count von Konigsmark, a Swede who was infatuated with Elizabeth. Within five months the double widow married again. Her third husband was Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset, 'The Proud Duke'--a dynastic marriage rather than a love match. After that her marital history was far from scandalous, and probably not the happiest.

During Princess Anne's quarrels with her sister Mary II and brother-in-law William III, when they demanded she dismiss Sarah from her household, the Somersets were her firmest allies. Forced to relinquish her Whitehall lodgings, Anne accepted her friends' offer to take sanctuary with them at Syon House, where she suffered through one of her many stillbirths. She remained forever grateful for their support.

On Anne's accession in 1702, Elizabeth joined the royal household as a Lady of the Bedchamber. She was a witness to the protracted and nasty breakdown in Anne's relationship with Sarah Churchill, and was ultimately a beneficiary. In 1710/11 she succeeded Sarah as Mistress of the Robes and Groom of the Stole. Her prominence stirred up old scandals--her unusual and colourful past had for many years provoked rumour and innuendo. Because of her red hair, she was sometimes lampooned as 'Carrots.' The cruelest accusation--that she might do harm to the Queen--was penned by Jonathan Swift in The Windsor Prophecy:

Beware of Carrots from Northumberlond.
Carrots sown Thynne a deep root may get,
If so be they are in Somer set:
Their Conyngs mark thou; for I have been told,
They assassine when younge, and poison when old.

Although the Duke incurred the Queen's displeasure and was removed from office, Elizabeth retained the royal favour, vying with Abigail Masham as chief confidante. Wisely she refrained from employing Sarah's bullying tactics. According to one observer, 'She never pressed the Queen hard; nothing makes the Queen more uneasy than that.' A daughter of the ancient aristocracy, she maintained a graciousness and dignity that the Queen must have appreciated greatly after the strife Sarah stirred up.

She retained her positions of authority until Anne's death in 1714, and was present as the Queen lay dying. A witness described the 'soft, courteous way of the Duchess's speaking to the Queen, and her majesty's look and motion of her face in receiving it, though so ill.' Elizabeth was designated chief mourner for the funeral but was herself indisposed and unable to participate.

Mary, Duchess of Ormonde

 

Duchess of Ormonde by Michael Dahl

Following the death of his first wife, whom he mourned deeply, the 2nd Duke of Ormonde married Lady Mary Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort's daughter, in 1685. Like the Duchess of Somerset, she was named a Lady of the Bedchamber at the outset of Anne's reign and held that position till its end.  


She allegedly lined her pockets by brokering places in the royal household. When selecting her maids of honour, the young unmarried women who attended the Queen, Anne wanted girls who 'had good education and beauty.' The stipend and the visibility to prospective husbands was tempting, and parents were very eager to place their daughters at court. Christian Temple's entire marriage portion was £2000, and apparently £1200 of it was paid to Mary as a bribe to obtain her place. The duchess then paid the all-powerful Sarah £500 for acquiescing to the appointment!

Mary was in waiting at Kensington when the Queen suffered the convulsions and stroke that resulted in death. It was she who replaced the ailing Duchess of Somerset as chief mourner at Anne's funeral. Her life changed drastically the following year when her husband was impeached for high treason, as a supporter of the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. He fled to France rather than stand trial in Parliament. Subsequently he was attainted, and his estate was forfeited.

Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham

 

Duchess of Buckingham

Catherine Darnley was the illegitimate daughter of James II by his mistress Catherine Sedley, and she was therefore Queen Anne's half-sister. She first married the Earl of Anglesey, and the union did not prosper--in 1701 she petitioned the House of Lords for a separation, on the grounds of cruelty. The next year he died. Her second husband was John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, and she was his third wife. At one time he had courted Anne, resulting in his dismissal from court. Anne was fond of her former suitor Buckingham, who had proved himself a fast friend of her father's prior to his exile. He also shared her strongly Tory sympathies. She merely tolerated Catherine.

Though born on the wrong side of the blanket, Catherine was ever at pains to remind everyone of her royal blood, 'exhibiting a love of display, a violent temper,' and frequently travelling to France to kneel at the tomb of her father, 'shedding tears over the threadbare pall which covered his remains.' Because of her husband's position as Lord Privy Seal (prior to 1703) and later Lord President of Council, Catherine frequented the court. At the Queen's birthday celebration in January 1711, 'The Duchess of Buckingham and Lady Paulet were scarce able to move under the load of jewels they had on.'

After Anne's death, Catherine's drawing room was a magnet for Tories and Jacobites, as she was in regular contact with her legitimate half-brother James, the Old Pretender, and would doubtless have preferred him as King to George I. She was buried with other Stuarts at Westminster Abbey, where her splendid funeral effigy can be found in the museum.

Adelhida, Duchess of Shrewsbury

 

Duchess of Shrewsbury

This lady's father was Marquis Andrea Paleotti and her mother was Maria Cristina Dudley, daughter of the titular Duke of Northumberland--an Englishman who was also a Tuscan nobleman. She grew up in Italy and was apparently an engaging and accomplished young woman, but also a scandalous one. She might or might not have been married to Count Brachiano, and she might or might not have been the Duke of Shrewsbury's mistress before their 1705 marriage in Rome. (Lady Cowper spitefully recorded that her brother forced the nobleman to wed her 'after an intrigue together.')

Shrewsbury, a one-eyed aristocrat known as the 'Duke of Hearts' for his good looks, brought his duchess to England, where she caused a stir in society. She won the favour of the newly widowed Queen Anne by expressing her sympathy: 'Oh, my poor Queen, I see how much you do miss your dear husband.' This was in contrast to Sarah, who was very unfeeling towards her grieving mistress.

In 1712 Shrewsbury served as Ambassador to Paris, where his duchess was appreciated for her hospitality and conversation, though she was also regarded as an eccentric. This did not prevent her becoming a Lady of the Bedchamber to Caroline, Princess of Wales, after the accession of George I, a post she held until her death in 1726.

Diana, Duchess of St Albans

 

Duchess of St Albans by Kneller

The eldest daughter of Aubrey de Vere, 20th and last Earl of Oxford, Diana was very much a child of the court. During her infancy, her father and Charles II supposedly discussed a possible marriage between Diana and Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans, the King's illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn. Diana grew up to be an ornament of Queen Mary II's court. At the same time, the young duke won the favour and patronage of of William III. Neither fact would have endeared them to Anne, who was estranged from her sister and loathed her brother-in-law. But the de Veres were courtiers for centuries. And the Duke was a Whig, the party in power at the outset of Anne's reign, so he held various appointments.
 
In the course of researching my latest novel, I stumbled upon an intriguing mystery. On 26 March, 1702, Luttrell the diarist reports, 'The dutchesses [sic] of Ormonde and St Albans are made ladies of the bedchamber to the Queen.' Yet Diana's name never appears again, and cannot be found in the official or unofficial lists of Anne's attendants. If Anne reconsidered, it could have been for any of four reasons, or a combination. Diana and her husband supported William and Mary in their quarrels with Anne, doubtless provoking her resentment. As well, Anne never much cared for her uncle's bastard offspring and that attitude might have extended to their wives. Alternatively, Sarah 's enmity towards one or both Beauclerks (she famously feuded with their son and heir) was such that she persuaded Anne to revoke the appointment. Or else Diana declined the position after rumours about it circulated--which is the unlikeliest explanation, as it was a prestigious and salaried post, ensuring access to the monarch.

With a change from Whig to Tory government in the last years of Anne's reign, the duke lost his court position. At the accession of George I, the Beauclerks were restored to high favour. Diana was chosen by Caroline, Princess of Wales, as First Lady of the Bedchamber and Groom of the Stole, and her husband was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber and captain of the King's personal guard.

Conclusion

When the meddlesome, overbearing, battle-tested, impulsive Sarah toppled from her perch, the Duke of Beaufort told Anne, 'Now is your Majesty Queen indeed!' None of the other duchesses who served in her household or who appeared at court attempted to rival or rule the ruler as Sarah had done for so long. Consequently, they are far less familiar--the price they paid for their discretion, submissiveness, and loyalty turned out to be their obscurity!

Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough by Kneller

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credits: Petworth House, The National Trust; Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons; www.thepeerage.com; Private Collection
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret Porter is the award-winning and bestselling author of twelve period novels, nonfiction and poetry. Lady Diana de Vere's association with Queen Mary's court, and Queen Anne, is featured in A Pledge of Better Times, her highly acclaimed novel of 17th century courtiers the 1st Duke and Duchess of St. Albans (available in trade paperback and ebook). Margaret studied British history in the UK and the US. As historian, her areas of speciality are social, theatrical, and garden history of the 17th and 18th centuries, royal courts, and portraiture. A former actress, she gave up the stage and screen to devote herself to fiction writing, travel, and her rose gardens.

Author Website

Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter  
Amazon

Bedchamber Ladies and Maids of Honour at the Late Stuart Court

by Margaret Porter

Readers of historical novels set in a royal court will be familiar with the terms “lady of the bedchamber” and “maid of honour.” But what were the responsibilities required of these positions, their advantages and disadvantages?

Fans of Tudor history and fiction know that several ladies-in-waiting became Queen of England. Anne Boleyn served Queen Katherine of Aragon, as did Jane Seymour—who was also Anne's lady-in-waiting when King Henry began to fancy her. And her successor, Anne of Cleves, had flighty Catherine Howard as a maid of honour. 

The Stuarts preferred marrying royalty, but their princes and kings routinely slept with female members of the royal household. Stuart queens had their favourites as well. But royalty were nothing if not fickle, and deep affection could sometimes transform into enmity.

A bedchamber lady who rose high & fell far

Aristocratic ladies and gentry women of the late 17^th century coveted a position at court for many reasons. Proximity to eligible gentlemen—the rich, the powerful, the landed—meant they might marry well, gaining wealth or a title or both. It was a means of promoting family interests, and quite a few courtiers inherited positions held by their parents or grandparents. Often a member of a queen’s retinue became the king’s pampered mistress. By giving birth to a royal bastard, she ensured financial support for her lifetime. Another reason court service was a desirable career for a well-born woman—it ensured an annual salary, room and board, and sometimes even a generous dowry. She wore pretty clothes and received ample attention from male courtiers. She also gained material goods—gifts from the sovereign might include jewellery, lace, clothing, and valuable mementos. On the death of a queen, her clothing and possessions were distributed to those who had served her.

The disadvantages were just as numerous. Salaries and stipends came irregularly and were often in arrears. Providing the monarch with aristocratic companionship was an arduous duty. One had to stand for hours on end, attain perfection in dancing and manners, assist at the royal toilette and robing, determine which visitors were welcome and properly introduce them. Those who had no taste for dalliance fended off libertines intent on seduction. Those who dallied with courtiers ran the risk of an unwanted pregnancy—an ordinary bastard hadn’t the cachet of a royal one. Miss Trevor, said to be the prettiest of the Duchess of York’s maids of honour, abruptly left the court before delivering her bastard child. According to one intimately familiar with Charles II’s household, “the Queen’s and Duchess’s maids of honour…bestow their favours to the right and left, and not the least notice is taken of their conduct.”

Ladies-in-waiting and maids of honour served on a rotating basis, one week at a time. They had lodgings in each royal residence. At the top of the hierarchy was the Groom of the Stole, responsible for all the bedchamber staff, and was sometimes also styled First Lady of the Bedchamber. In addition to the ladies and the maids, there were bedchamber women or dressers, of lowlier status, who performed more menial bedchamber tasks.

Charles II

His was the golden age of the bedchamber lady as royal mistress—or vice versa. Upon his marriage, the King foisted his mistress Barbara Palmer, neé Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, upon his Portuguese bride, sparking a domestic crisis. Later he chased after the beautiful and elusive Frances Stewart, who returned to the Queen's service after marrying the Duke of Richmond. Even the actress Nell Gwyn, “the indiscreetest and wildest creature that was ever in a court” was given a nominal position in the Queen’s service as a Lady of the Privy Chamber. Her French rival Louise de Kerouaille began as a maid of honour to Charles’s sister, Henriette, Duchess of Orleans, at the French court. Later, as the English king’s mistress, she was assured of a place as a Lady of the Bedchamber, although the Queen would not let her enter it. Her apartments at Whitehall were grander than Her Majesty’s.

The "golden" Jane, Mrs Myddelton, in gold

It was, in a sense, the beginning of the “professional beauty,” whose portrait was painted to hang in royal palaces, and adorned humbler abodes in the form of an engraving. Jane Myddelton, described as “all white and golden,” and “the most beautiful woman in England, and the most amiable,” falls into that category. Frances Jennings, sister of the future Duchess of Marlborough, inspired Anthony Hamilton to write, “Her face reminded me of the dawn, or of some Goddess of the Spring.” On one occasion she and her fellow maid of honour Goditha Price, disguised as orange girls, sold fruit at the theatre. They went unrecognised by the male courtiers who accosted them, or their mistress the Duchess of York.

Diarist Samuel Pepys is a rich source of information on the exploits and amours of ladies of the court, several of whom fired his admiration and his secret passion.

James II

A Catholic convert, James’s devotion to his religion never inhibited him from sleeping with ladies of the court. As Duke of York, he preyed upon the ladies who served his first and second wives, such loose-moralled creatures as Diana Kirke, Lady Denham, and many others. Arabella Churchill, who served his first duchess, bore him four children.

The wild and witty Catherine Sedley

Catherine Sedley, his most famous mistress, resisted all attempts to dislodge her from his court and his bed, much to the consternation of Mary of Modena, his jealous young queen. Despite the fact that Catherine was Protestant and claimed to be far cleverer than he, James would not set her aside, no matter how his wife and priests urged him. Lord Dorset addressed these lines to her: “Dorinda’s sparkling wit, and Eyes/United, cast too fierce a Light.”

Mary II

When Mary and her husband William succeeded her de-throned father, they imposed a new sedateness and propriety upon the court. Her bedchamber ladies and maids of honour were faithful, respectable wives and chaste young maidens. The Countess of Derby, as Groom of the Stole, received £800, with a further £400 as Mistress of the Robes, for a total annual salary of £1200—no mean sum in those days. Her five Ladies of the Bedchamber were paid £500 per year, and usually there were six maids of honour, receiving £200 per year.

Mary, Countess of Dorset

Mary commissioned Godfrey Kneller to paint a series of portraits of the loveliest and most virtuous ladies, known as the Hampton Court Beauties. Among them was the Countess of Dorset, her favourite Lady of the Bedchamber, who died soon after sitting to Kneller. Another attendant, Lady Diana de Vere, whose Hampton Court portrait graces my novel’s cover, bore Mary’s train at her coronation and became the bride of Nell Gwyn’s son Charles, 1st Duke of St Albans. At their marriage, the Queen granted the couple an annuity of £2000.

At the palace, Mary’s ladies joined her in needlework (her favourite occupation), escorted her to chapel prayers, and read aloud to her. In public they accompanied her to the theatre, on walks and promenades, and even to St. James’s Fair, their identities concealed by black vizard masks.

Queen Anne


Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, wearing her
gold key of office

On assuming England’s throne, Anne designated her longtime companion and confidante Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Groom of the Stole and Keeper of the Privy Purse. It was this all-powerful aristocrat who “prepared a list of ye ladies of ye best quality, ye nearest ye Queen in age and most suited to her temper to be Ladies of the Bedchamber.” In addition to Sarah there were ten—two of them, not surprisingly, were her own daughters. Each received a salary of £1000. The six maids of honour had a stipend of £300 per annum. The Queen was a firm Tory and Sarah strongly Whig, thus the party affiliation of Her Majesty’s attendants was balanced. By the last years of the reign, the number of bedchamber ladies had dropped to eight.

The royal account books reveal that in 1707, the Master of the Great Wardrobe was given £24 10s to purchase “umbrellas for the Maids of Honour.”

Perhaps in no other reign was the relationship of the bedchamber ladies and the monarch so closely scrutinised, or their political powers—real or presumed—so discussed. Sarah, through her firm—some might even say bullying—management of the Queen, soon put herself out of favour. And it was her own cousin Abigail Masham, neé Hill, who supplanted her as Anne’s caretaker and Keeper of the Privy Purse. But because she was a mere “Mrs,” and of a lower class, she couldn’t have Sarah’s position of Groom of the Stole. It was bestowed upon the extremely aristocratic Duchess of Somerset, who had served at court for many a year and whom Anne greatly respected.

Sarah embarked on her long career at court in the 1670s as a maid of honour to Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, and it lasted till her dismissal in the early days of 1711. Her history demonstrates the heights to which a determined female could climb—and also how she could descend, on losing the royal favour.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret Porter is the award-winning and bestselling author of twelve period novels, nonfiction and poetry. Lady Diana de Vere's association with Queen Mary's court is featured in A Pledge of Better Times, her highly acclaimed novel of 17th century courtiers the 1st Duke and Duchess of St. Albans (available in trade paperback and ebook). Margaret studied British history in the UK and the US. As historian, her areas of speciality are social, theatrical, and garden history of the 17th and 18th centuries, royal courts, and portraiture. A former actress, she gave up the stage and screen to devote herself to fiction writing, travel, and her rose gardens.

Author Website

Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter  
Amazon

Sarah and the Queen

SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH was one of the most outstanding women of her era.  Among the most prominent figures in the Court of Queen Anne, she had a vast influence on the politics of her day. Her name is associated with great statesmen and generals. She occupied the highest social position of any woman in England after that of the royal family. She had the ear and the confidence of the Queen. The greatest offices were virtually at her disposal. Around her we may cluster the leading characters and events of the age of Queen Anne.

The future Duchess of Marlborough, was born Sarah Jennings in 1660. At age twelve Sarah was befriended by the Duchess of York, Mary Beatrice Eleanora, Princess of Modena (an adopted daughter of Louis XIV.), who married James, brother of Charles II. Sarah was thus introduced to the Duke of York's circle, and and became the playmate of Princess Anne. Therein, Sarah, beautiful, bright, and witty, became acquainted with John Churchill, a colonel of the army and a gentleman of the bedchamber to the Duke of York. He was twenty-three years of age, a fine-looking and gallant soldier, distinguished himself at the siege of Tangier, and known in battle as the "handsome Englishman," with irresistibly pleasing manners, remarkable energy, and a coolness of judgment that was seldom known to err. Sarah and John were married in 1678.

In 1685 Charles II. died, and was succeeded by his brother the Duke of York, as James II. The new King rewarded his favorite, Colonel Churchill, with a Scotch peerage and the command of a regiment of guards, James's two daughters, the princesses Mary and Anne, now became great personages. But from mutual jealousy they did not live together very harmoniously. Meanwhile, Anne and her childhood playmate, Sarah (now Lady Churchill) remained very close.

Princess Anne was weak and generally uninteresting. But she was inordinately attached to Lady Churchill, who held a high post of honor and emolument in her household and gradually acquired an absolute ascendency over the mind of the Princess, who could not live happily without her companionship and services. Lady Churchill was at this time remarkably striking in her appearance, with a clear complexion, regular features, majestic figure, and beautiful hair, which was dressed without powder. She also had great power of conversation, was frank, outspoken, and amusing, but without much tact. The Princess wrote to her sometimes four times a day, always in the strain of humility, and seemed utterly dependent upon her. Anne was averse to reading, spending her time at cards and frivolous pleasures. She was fond of etiquette, and exacting in trifles. She was praised for her piety, which would appear however to have been formal and technical. She was placid, phlegmatic, and had no conversational gifts. She played tolerably on the guitar, loved the chase, and rode with the hounds until disabled by the gout, which was brought about by the pleasures of the table. In 1683 Anne married Prince George of Denmark, and by him had thirteen children, not one of whom survived her; most of them died in infancy.

The Princess Anne, at age thirty-seven, quietly ascended the throne, and all eyes were at once turned to her boon companion's husband the Duke of Marlborough, on whom the weight of public affairs rested. He was now fifty-three, active, wise, well poised, experienced, and generally popular in spite of his ambition and treason. He had, been a moderate Tory, but as he was the advocate of war measures, he now became one of the leaders of the Whig party. Indeed, he was at this time the foremost man in England, on account of his great talents as a statesman and diplomatist as well as general, and for the ascendency of his wife over the mind of the Queen.

But the real ruler of the land, on the accession of Anne, was the favored wife of Marlborough. If ever a subject stood on the very pinnacle of greatness, it was she. All the foreign ambassadors flattered her and paid court to her. The greatest nobles solicited or bought of her the lucrative offices in the gift of the Crown. She was the dispenser of court favors, as Mesdames de Maintenon and Pompadour were in France. She was the admiration of gifted circles, in which she reigned as a queen of society. Poets sang her praises and extolled her beauty; statesmen craved her influence. Nothing took place at court to which she was not privy. She was the mainspring of all political cabals and intrigues; even the Queen treated her with deference, as well as loaded her with gifts, and Godolphin consulted her on affairs of State. The military fame of her husband gave her unbounded éclat. No Englishwoman ever had such an exalted social position; she reigned in salons as well as in the closet of the Queen. And she succeeded in marrying her daughters to the proudest peers. Her eldest daughter, Henrietta, was the wife of an earl and prime minister. Her second daughter, Anne, married Lord Charles Spencer, the only son of the Earl of Sunderland, one of the leaders of the Whig party and secretary of state. Her third daughter became the wife of the Earl, afterwards Duke, of Bridgewater; and the fourth and youngest daughter had for her husband the celebrated Duke of Montague, grand-master of the Order of the Bath.

Thus did Sarah Jennings rise. Her daughters were married to great nobles and statesmen, her husband was the most famous general of his age, and she herself was the favorite and confidential friend and adviser of the Queen. Upon her were showered riches and honor. She had both influence and power,--influence from her talents, and power from her position. And when she became duchess,--after the great victory of Blenheim,--and a princess of the German Empire, she had nothing more to aspire to in the way of fortune or favor or rank. She was the first woman of the land, next to the Queen, whom she ruled while nominally serving her.

Lady Marlborough was both proud by nature and the force of circumstances. She became an incarnation of arrogance, which she could not conceal, and which she never sought to control. When she became the central figure in the Court and in the State, flattered and sought after wherever she went, before whom the greatest nobles burned their incense, and whom the people almost worshipped in a country which has ever idolized rank and power, she assumed airs and gave vent to expressions that wounded her friend the Queen. Anne bore her friend's intolerable pride, blended with disdain, for a long time after her accession. But her own character also began to change. Sovereigns do not like dictation from subjects, however powerful. And when securely seated on her throne, Anne began to avow opinions which she had once found it politic to conceal. Thus, the political opinions of the Queen came gradually to be at variance with those advanced by her favorite. Still, Anne long suppressed her feelings of alienation, produced by the politics and haughty demeanor of her favorite. Her treatment of the Countess continued the same as ever, full of affection and confidence. She could not break with a friend who had so long been indispensable to her; nor had she strength of character to reveal her true feelings.

However, the breach between the Queen and the Duchess gradually widened. In such a state of affairs, with the growing alienation of the Queen, it became necessary for the proud Duchess to resign her offices; but before doing this she made one final effort to regain what she had lost. She besought the Queen for a private interview, which was refused. Again importuned, her Majesty sullenly granted the interview, but refused to explain anything, and even abruptly left the room, and was so rude that the Duchess burst into a flood of tears which she could not restrain,--not tears of grief, but tears of wrath and shame.

Thus was finally ended the memorable friendship between Anne and Sarah, which had continued for twenty-seven years. The Queen and Duchess never met again. On the dismissal of the great Duke from all his offices, and the "disgrace" of his wife at court, they led a comparatively quiet life abroad.

Meanwhile the last days of Queen Anne's weary existence were drawing to a close. She was assailed with innumerable annoyances. Her body was racked with the gout, and her feeble mind was distracted by the contradictory counsels of her advisers. Any allusion to her successor was a knell of agony to her disturbed soul. She became suspicious, and alienated. She died August 1, 1714 without signing her will, by which omission Sarah was deprived of her promisedlegacy. She died childless, and the Elector George of Hanover ascended her throne.

In 1722, Sarah's husband died leaving a fortune of a million and a half pounds sterling, besides his vast estates. The Duchess of Marlborough was now the richest woman in England. The Duchess was now sixty-two, with unbroken health and inextinguishable ambition. She died, in 1744, unlamented and unloved, in the eighty-fourth year of her age, and was interred by the side of her husband, in the tomb in the chapel of Blenheim. She left a fortune to a few favored heirs, plus a costly collection of jewels,--one of the most valuable in Europe,--at a time when few noblemen at that time had over £30,000 a year.

 Compiled From Sources In The Public Domain.

Smiles and Good Reading,
Teresa
Author of the Regency Romance Novel, A Very Merry Chase
Set in early 19th century Regency England, and harking back in style to the heyday of Georgette Heyer, A Very Merry Chase is an old-fashioned comedy of manners and errors that boasts empire fashions, dashing characters, verbal sparring matches and witty repartee mingled with just a hint of mystery, danger and intrigue.

Vote for A Very Merry Chase as the I Buzz Book Club Club Selection


~~~~~~~~~~~~~