Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (23 April 167519 April 1722), known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman and nobleman from the Spencer family. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

(1714–1717),

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

(1715–1716),

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...

(1718–1719) and First Lord of the Treasury (1718–1721). He is an ancestor of both

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, and through her, the current

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, William, Prince of Wales.

Early life

He was the second son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Digby, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol. On the death of his elder brother Robert in Paris in September 1688, he became heir to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. Called by John Evelyn "a youth of extraordinary hopes," he completed his education at Utrecht, and in 1695 entered the House of Commons as member for Tiverton. In the same year, he married Arabella, daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle; she died in 1698 and in 1700, he married Anne Churchill, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. This was an important alliance for Sunderland and for his descendants; through it, he was introduced to political life and later the dukedom of Marlborough came to the Spencers. In 1698 he plunged his family into scandal when his brother-in-law Donogh MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London for his support for

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

and later escaped, was reconciled with his long-estranged wife, Charles' sister Elizabeth, and at long last consummated the marriage. Charles, alerted by his father's servants, had Clancarty arrested while he was actually in bed with Elizabeth. The result was a public uproar which gravely embarrassed their parents.

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

treated the matter as a trifle, wondering why everyone he met teased him about "that little spark Clancarty", and gave the couple permission to settle in

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864, Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Alto ...

. Elizabeth, who died in Hamburg in 1704, never saw her parents or brother again. His father's biographer comments that the affair did not show Charles in a good light either as a man or a brother.

Career

Having succeeded to the peerage in 1702, Sunderland was one of the commissioners for the union between England and Scotland, and in 1705, he was sent to Vienna as envoy extraordinary. Although he was tinged with republican ideas and had made himself obnoxious to Queen Anne by opposing the grant to her husband, Prince George, through the influence of Marlborough he was foisted into the ministry as

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

, taking office in December 1706. From 1708 to 1710, he was one of the five Whigs collectively called the '' Junto'', who dominated the government, but he had many enemies, the Queen still disliked him, and in June 1710, he was dismissed. Anne offered him a pension of £3000 a year, but this he refused, saying "if he could not have the honour to serve his country he would not plunder it." When Marlborough protested about the dismissal, the Queen inquired sarcastically whether "the Peace of Europe must depend on it?" She added that Sunderland was universally unpopular, which was indeed the case. Sunderland continued to take part in public life, and was active in communicating with the court of Hanover about the steps to be taken in view of the approaching death of the queen. He made the acquaintance of George I in 1706, but when the

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

became king, Sunderland only secured the comparatively unimportant position of

. In August 1715, he joined the cabinet as

. After a visit to George I in Hanover, he secured, in April 1717, the position of

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

. This he retained until March 1718, when he became First Lord of the Treasury, holding also the post of

. He was now effectively the prime minister. Sunderland was especially interested in the proposed Peerage Bill, a measure designed to limit the number of members of the House of Lords, but this was defeated owing partly to the opposition of Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

. In 1719, he succeeded

Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was an English political leader and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Life He was the son of the 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, and the former Lady Mary ...

in the court position as

Groom of the Stool The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close stool, Close Stool") was the most intimate of an List of English monarchs, English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physica ...

to King George I, which he held until his death in 1722. He was also made a knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

in 1719. He was also a main subscriber in the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. The bursting of the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

led to his political ruin. He had taken some part in launching the scheme of 1720, therefore public opinion was roused against him and it was only through the efforts of Walpole that he was acquitted by the House of Commons, when the matter was investigated. In April 1721, he resigned his offices, but he retained his influence with George I until his own death on 19 April 1722. Sunderland inherited his father's passion for intrigue, while his manners were repelling, but he stands high among his associates for disinterestedness and had an alert and discerning mind. From his early years, he had a great love of books, and he spent his leisure and his wealth in forming the library at Althorp, which in 1703 was described as "the finest in Europe." In 1749, part of it was removed to

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

. In 1722 Sunderland was implicated in what became known as the Atterbury Plot, to restore the House of Stuart, and his death was one of the factors which brought the Plot to light.Devon and Exeter Oath Rolls, 1723
at foda.org.uk/oaths, accessed 12 June 2013 The town of Sunderland, Massachusetts, was named in his honour in November 1718, just after he became Lord President of the Council.

Marriages and children

His first wife was Lady Arabella Cavendish (19 August 16734 June 1698), daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle. They had one daughter: *Lady Frances Spencer (27 July 1742), married

Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle KG (14 August 1694 – 3 September 1758), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1738 was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1738 when he succeeded to the Peerage as Earl of Carlis ...

. His second wife was

Lady Anne Churchill The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...

(27 February 168315 April 1716). She died in April 1716, after a career of considerable influence on the political life of her time. They had six children: *Hon. Robert Spencer (2 December 170012 September 1701). * Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (24 October 170127 November 1729). *Lady Anne Spencer (170219 February 1769), married William Bateman, 1st Viscount Bateman. * Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland (22 November 170620 October 1758), succeeded his aunt, Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, as 3rd Duke of Marlborough. *

Hon. John Spencer John Spencer (13 May 1708 – 19 June 1746) was a British nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1732 to 1746. Early life Spencer was born on 13 May 1708 and was the youngest son of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland, th ...

(13 May 170819 June 1746), father of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer. * Lady Diana Spencer (171027 September 1735), married John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. In 1717, he married an Irish lady of fortune, Judith Tichborne (17 May 1749), daughter of Sir Benjamin Tichborne of Beaulieu (younger brother of Sir Henry Tichborne, 1st Baron Ferrard, Irish cr. 1715) and Elizabeth Gibbs. They had three children who died in infancy: *Unnamed child (born and died 1718). *Lady Margaret Spencer (born and died 1719) - her coffin was removed from St James' Church London where she had been first been buried and interred at the family vault in Great Brington Church on the same day as her father's burial that of 1st May 1722 *Hon. William Spencer (172017 April 1722) - interred in the family vault in Great Brinton Church on the same day as his father that of 1st May 1722 After his death, she married

Sir Robert Sutton Sir Robert Sutton (167113 August 1746) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1741. Early life Sutton was the elder son of Robert Sutton of Averham, Nottinghamshire, and his wife, Katherine, the da ...

(1671 – 13 August 1746).

Notes

Ancestry

References