Editing Blenheim Palace (section)

=== Churchills ===
[[File:Marlborough-first-duke.JPG|thumb|upright|{{Circa|1705}} [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]] by [[Sir Godfrey Kneller]].|alt=A man in robes of the Order of the Garter. The man is wearing white and red clothing, with a mantle adorned with a large badge]]

John Churchill was born in [[Devon]]. Although his family had [[aristocracy|aristocratic]] relations, it belonged to the minor [[gentry]] rather than the upper echelons of 17th-century society. In 1678, Churchill married [[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough|Sarah Jennings]],<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 129</ref> and in April that year, he was sent by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] to [[The Hague]] to negotiate a convention on the deployment of the English army in Flanders. The mission ultimately proved abortive. In May, Churchill was appointed to the temporary rank of [[Brigadier-General]] of Foot, but the possibility of a continental campaign was eliminated with the [[Treaties of Nijmegen|Treaty of Nijmegen]].<ref>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 10</ref>

When Churchill returned to England, the [[Popish Plot]] resulted in a temporary three-year banishment for [[James II of England|James Stuart, Duke of York]]. The Duke obliged Churchill to attend him, first to The Hague, then in [[Brussels]].<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 92.</ref> For his services during the crisis, Churchill was made Lord Churchill of [[Eyemouth]] in the [[peerage of Scotland]] in 1682, and the following year appointed colonel of the [[1st The Royal Dragoons|King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons]].<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 164</ref>

[[File:Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough]] 1700 by Sir Godfrey Kneller]]

On the death of Charles II in 1685, his brother, the Duke of York, became [[James II of England|King James II]]. James had been Governor of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (today North America's oldest company, established by [[royal charter]] in 1670), and with his succession to the throne, Churchill was appointed the company's third ever governor. He had also been affirmed [[Gentleman of the Bedchamber]] in April, and admitted to the English peerage as Baron Churchill of Sandridge in the county of [[Hertfordshire]] in May. Following the [[Monmouth Rebellion]], Churchill was promoted to [[Major General]] and awarded the lucrative colonelcy of the Third Troop of [[Life Guards (British Army)|Life Guards]].<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 126</ref>

When [[William III of England|William, Prince of Orange]], invaded England in November 1688, Churchill, accompanied by some 400 officers and men, rode to join him in [[Axminster]].<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 240</ref> When the King saw he could not even keep Churchill – for so long his loyal and intimate servant – he fled to France.<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 194</ref> As part of William III's coronation honours, Churchill was created [[Earl of Marlborough]], sworn to the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]], and made a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber.<ref name=stephen>{{cite DNB |last=Stephen |first=Leslie |wstitle=Churchill, John (1650-1722) |display=Churchill, John (1650–1722) |volume=10 |pages=315–341 |short=x |noicon=x}}</ref>

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] Churchill gained a reputation as a capable military commander, and in 1702 he was elevated to the dukedom of Marlborough. During the war he won a series of victories, including the [[Battle of Blenheim]] (1704), the [[Battle of Ramillies]] (1706), the [[Battle of Oudenarde]] (1708), and the [[Battle of Malplaquet]] (1709). For his victory at Blenheim, the Crown bestowed upon Marlborough the tenancy of the royal [[Manorialism|manor]] of Hensington (situated on the site of Woodstock) to site the new palace, and [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] voted a substantial sum of money towards its creation. The rent or ''petit serjeanty'' due to the Crown for the land was set at the [[peppercorn rent]] or [[quit-rent]] of one copy of the French royal flag to be tendered to the Monarch annually on the anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim. This flag is displayed by the Monarch on a 17th-century French writing table in [[Windsor Castle]].<ref name="RCT">{{cite web | url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?category=279&object=35489&row=9&detail=about | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829204252/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?category=279&object=35489&row=9&detail=about| archive-date= 29 August 2017|title=Writing table | publisher=The Royal Collection Trust | work=The Royal Collection | access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

Marlborough's wife was by all accounts a cantankerous woman, though capable of great charm. She had befriended the young [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Princess Anne]] and later, when the princess became Queen, the Duchess of Marlborough, as Her Majesty's [[Mistress of the Robes]], exerted great influence over the Queen on both personal and political levels. The relationship between Queen and Duchess later became strained and fraught, and following their final quarrel in 1711, the money for the construction of Blenheim ceased.<ref>Field, p. 229, 251–5, 265, 344</ref> For political reasons the Marlboroughs went into exile on the Continent until they returned the day after the Queen's death on 1 August 1714.<ref name=stephen/>