Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

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Modern wax figure of the Duchess

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660–1744) was the royal favourite of Queen Anne. In Anne's service, Sarah rose to be one of the most powerful women in British history until they fell out in 1711. Sarah was the wife of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Sourced quotes

  • "The Duke returned from the wars today and did pleasure me in his top-boots."[1]
    • Oral tradition. The quote exists in various forms.
Simple: The Duke [of Marlborough] came back from war today and pleasured me in his boots.
What it means: The Duke came back from war today and made love to me in his boots.
  • "If I were young and handsome as I was, instead of old and faded as I am, and you could lay the empire of the world at my feet, you should never share the heart and hand that once belonged to John, Duke of Marlborough."[2]
    • Rejecting a marriage proposal from the 6th Duke of Somerset, shortly after the Duke of Marlborough's death.
Simple: If I were young and pretty as I once was, instead of old and faded as I am now, and you could give me the empire of the world, you could never have my heart and hand that once belonged to John, Duke of Marlborough.

References

  1. "Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of" The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Ed. Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed on 18 November 2008
  2. Churchill, Winston Spencer (ed. 2002). Marlborough: His life and times. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226106357. 

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