But if the Duke of Marlborough was remarkable, so too was his wife.
While the war was going on, the real power of the Crown, though it
stood in Anne's name, was practically in the hands of Sarah Jennings,
Duchess of Marlborough, who held the office of Mistress of the Robes.
She and the Queen had long been inseparable, and it was her influence
that cause Anne to desert her father (S491) and espouse the cause of
William of Orange.
The imperious temper of the Duchess carried all before it, and in her
department she won victories which might well be compared with those
the Duke, her husband, gained on the field of battle. In time her
sway over her royal companion grew to be so absolute that she seemed
to decide everything, from questions of state to the cut of a gown or
the color of a ribbon. Finally, it became a common saying that "Queen
Anne reigns, but Queen Sarah governs."[1]
[1] For years the Queen and the Duchess corresponded almost daily
under the names of "Mrs. Morley" (the Queen) and "Mrs. Freeman" (the
Duchess), the latter taking that name because, she said, it suited the
frank and bold character of her letters.
While the Duchess continued in power, she used her influence to urge
forward the war with France undertaken by England to check the designs
of Louis XIV on Spain and Holland, and also to punish him for his
recognition of the claim of the Pretender to the English crown
(S491). Her object was to advance her husband, who, as commander in
chief of the English and Dutch forces on the Continent, had won fame
and fortune,--the first by his splendid ability, the second by his
unscrupulous greed (S509).
After a number of years, the Queen and the Duchess quarreled, and the
latter was superseded by her cousin, a Mrs. Masham (1711), who soon
got as complete control of Anne as the former favorite had possessed.
Mrs. Masham was as sly and supple as the Duchess had been dictatorial
and violent. She was cousin to Robert Harley, a prominent Tory
politician (S479). Through her influence Harley now became Prime
Minister in everything but name. He succeeded in putting a stop to
further fighting, and Marlborough was ordered home in disgrace on a
charge of having robbed the government. Thus it was, as Hallam
remarks, that "the fortunes of Europe were changed by the insolence of
one waiting woman and the cunning of another."[1]