Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough.

Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (July 19, 1681–October 24, 1733) was the daughter of the 1st Duke of Marlborough and Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.

She was born Henrietta Churchill, and became Lady Henrietta Churchill in 1689, when her father was created Earl of Marlborough. She married The Hon. Francis Godolphin in 1698, becoming Lady Henrietta Godolphin. She became Viscountess Rialton in 1706 when her father-in-law was created Earl of Godolphin, and Countess of Godolphin in 1712 when her husband succeeded as 2nd Earl of Godolphin.

Lady Godolphin succeeded to her father's titles when he died in 1722 and thus became 2nd Duchess of Marlborough.

She bore five children during her marriage to Lord Godolphin:

William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford (c. 1700–1731) (married Maria Catherina de Jong, no issue)
Lord Henry Godolphin (b. c. 1700)
Lady Margaret Godolphin (b. c. 1703)
Lady Henrietta Godolphin (d. 1776) (married the 1st Duke of Newcastle, no issue^[1])
Lady Mary Godolphin (c. 1716–1764) (married the 4th Duke of Leeds and had issue) (It is strongly suspected that Lady Mary Godolphin was not the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Godolphin, but rather of the Duchess of Marlborough's lover, the playwright William Congreve.)

The Duchess died in 1733, aged 52, and she was buried on 9 November 1733 in Westminster Palace. Her titles passed to her nephew, the 5th Earl of Sunderland.