George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, (26 January 1739 – 29 January 1817), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier, nobleman, and politician from the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...

. He served as

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

between 1762 and 1763 and as

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 in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. Originally, ...

between 1763 and 1765. He is the great-great-great grandfather of

Sir 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 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Background and education

Styled by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

Marquess of Blandford from birth, he was the eldest son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, and the Honourable Elizabeth Trevor, daughter of Thomas Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor. His siblings were Charles, Diana and Elizabeth.

Personal traits and characteristics

According to George III, who mentioned it to Fanny Burney,Burney, F. ''The Diary of Fanny Burney'', Dent (Everyman edition), London, 1971, pages 107-8 the Duke suffered from severe red-green colourblindness. As he was unable to tell scarlet from green, Fanny, therefore, remarked that this was unlucky for someone in possession of so sumptuous a home as

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, ...

Career

Marlborough entered the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1755 as an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, becoming a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

with the 20th Regiment of Foot the following year. After inheriting the dukedom in 1758, Marlborough took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

in 1760, becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire in that same year.thepeerage.com George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
/ref> The following year, he bore the

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

with the cross at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In 1762, he was made

as well as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

, and after a year resigned this appointment to become

, a post he held until 1765. An amateur astronomer, he built a private observatory at his residence, Blenheim Palace. He kept up a lively scientific correspondence with Hans Count von Brühl, another non-academic astronomer. The Duke was made a

Knight 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 ...

in 1768, and was elected to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1786.

Family

Marlborough married Lady Caroline Russell (1743–1811), daughter of

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, (30 September 17105 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peer ...

, in 1762, by whom he had eight children: * Lady Caroline Spencer (1763–1813), married Henry Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden and had issue, including

George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover PC FRS FSA (14 January 179710 July 1833) was a British politician and man of letters. He was briefly First Commissioner of Woods and Forests under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831. Background ...

. *Lady Elizabeth Spencer (1764–1812), married her cousin John Spencer (a grandson of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough) and had issue. * George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840) *Lady Charlotte Spencer (1769–1802), married Rev.

Edward Nares Edward Nares (26 March 1762 – 23 July 1841) was an English historian and theologian, and general writer. Life He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was Fellow of Merton College, Oxford and in 1813, he became Re ...

and had issue. * Lord Henry John Spencer (1770–1795) *Lady Anne Spencer (1773–1865), married

Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury Bt (21 December 1768 – 2 June 1851), styled The Honourable Cropley Ashley-Cooper until 1811, was a British politician. He was the father of the social reformer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of ...

and had issue. *Lady Amelia Spencer (1774–1829), married Henry Pytches Boyce. * Lord Francis Almeric Spencer (1779–1845), created Baron Churchill in 1815. The Duchess of Marlborough died at

in November 1811, aged 68. The Duke of Marlborough died at Blenheim Palace in January 1817, aged 78, and was buried there.

Gallery

File:Reynolds - 4th Duke of Marlborough and Family.jpg, The 4th Duke of Marlborough and his family, by Reynolds

References

* *''The Collected Correspondence of Baron Franz von Zach'', Volume 3 (British Letters), 2008. Edited by Clifford J. Cunningham. Star Lab Press. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Marlborough, George Spencer, 4th Duke Of 1739 births 1817 deaths Coldstream Guards officers George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough 104 Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Garter Lancashire Fusiliers officers Lord-Lieutenants of Oxfordshire Lords Privy Seal People educated at Eton College