Henrietta Godolphin, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Duchess of Marlborough (19 July 1681 – 24 October 1733) was the daughter of

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was a Briti ...

, general of the army, and Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, close friend and business manager of Queen Anne.

Biography

She was born Henrietta Churchill and became The Hon. Henrietta Churchill when her father was made a Scottish Lord of Parliament in 1682. She became Lady Henrietta Churchill in 1689, when her father was created Earl of Marlborough. Upon her marriage to The Hon. Francis Godolphin in March 1698, she became Lady Henrietta Godolphin, then Viscountess Rialton in 1706, when her father-in-law was created Earl of Godolphin. When her husband succeeded as 2nd Earl of Godolphin in 1712, she became Countess of Godolphin. An act of the English parliament in 1706 allowed the 1st Duke's daughters to inherit his English titles. Following his death in 1722, Lady Godolphin became ''

'' Duchess of Marlborough. She bore five children during her marriage to Lord Godolphin: * William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford (c. 1700–1731), married Maria Catherina Haeck de Jong, no issue *Lord Henry Godolphin (b. c. 1700) * Lady Henrietta Godolphin (1701–1776), married the 1st Duke of Newcastle, no issue *Lady Margaret Godolphin (b. c. 1703) * Lady Mary Godolphin (1723–1764), married the 4th Duke of Leeds and had issue. It was rumoured that Lady Mary Godolphin was not, in fact, the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Godolphin, but rather daughter of the playwright

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...

and Henrietta Godolphin. The Duchess died in 1733, aged 52, in

Harrow, Middlesex Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a populat ...

, and was buried on 9 November 1733 in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. Her titles passed to her nephew, the 5th Earl of Sunderland.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marlborough, Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

Daughters of English dukes Hereditary women peers 1681 births 1733 deaths Henrietta English duchesses Godolphin Burials at Westminster Abbey Churchill family