Margaret Godolphin (née Blagge; 2 August 1652 – 9 September 1678) was a British courtier. She chose

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

as a mentor and died after childbirth. His account of her life was not published until 1847.

Life

Margaret Blagge was probably born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 2 August 1652 to Colonel

Thomas Blagge Colonel Thomas Blagge (13 July 1613 – 4 November 1660) served as Groom of the Chamber to Charles I and his son Charles II. He fought for the Royalists during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and following the Execution of Charles I in January ...

and his wife. Her father who was a Royalist died in 1660. In about 1666 she took on the role of

Maid of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen r ...

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 163731 March 1671) was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry – Edward Hyde (later created ...

, the Duchess of York. When the duchess died in 1671 she was employed in the same role by the Queen. She chose

as a mentor and "spiritual father" in 1672. Margaret was twenty and Evelyn was 52 and he advised her on religious learning and worship.W. Calvin Dickinson, ‘Godolphin, Margaret (1652–1678)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 23 Dec 2014
/ref> Evelyn would write a book about her life. She married

Sidney Godolphin Sidney Godolphin is the name of: * Sidney Godolphin (colonel) (1652–1732), Member of Parliament for fifty years * Sidney Godolphin (poet) (1610–1643), English poet * Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (c. 1640–1712), leading British poli ...

on 16 May 1676, when she was a maid of court. He would later become one of the most important politicians in England. Godolphin gave birth to Francis Godolphin on 3 September 1678, and due to complications resulting from the birth, she died in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

on 9 September.

Legacy

Godolphin was buried at

Breage Parish Church Breage Parish Church is the Anglican parish church of the parish of Breage, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is dedicated to Saint Breage or Breaca, said to have been an Irish nun who came to Cornwall in the 5th-century. Description The chu ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

some days later. An account of her life was written by John Evelyn and this was passed down through his family to

Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death. He was the third son of the George Venables-V ...

who was the Archbishop of York. He arranged for it to be published in 1847 with the assistance of the Bishop of Oxford.

References

1652 births 1678 deaths British maids of honour Deaths in childbirth Court of Charles II of England {{UK-noble-stub