Arabella Churchill (royal mistress)
Encyclopedia
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, and the mother of four of his children (surnamed FitzJames Stuart, that is "son of James Stuart"). Arabella was the child of Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill (1620-1688)
Sir Winston Churchill FRS , known as the Cavalier Colonel, was an English soldier, historian, and politician. He was the father of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, as well as a mixed-line ancestor of his 20th-century namesake, Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.Churchill was the son of...
(an ancestor of the Prime Minister of the same name
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
) and Elizabeth Drake.
An older sister of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
, she began her relationship with James, then Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, around 1665, while he was still married to Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain....
. Arabella became the duchess's lady-in-waiting in that year, and gave birth to two children during Anne's lifetime. Some time after 1674, she married Charles Godfrey and had three more children.
Children with James II of England
- Henrietta FitzJamesHenrietta FitzJamesHenrietta FitzJames , the Dowager Lady Waldegrave and titular Countess of Newcastle, was an illegitimate daughter of James Stuart, Duke of York, afterward James II, King of Great Britain, by his mistress, Arabella Churchill, herself sister of the Duke of Marlborough.Henrietta was sister to the...
, (1667 – 3 April 1730) - James FitzJames, 1st Duke of BerwickJames FitzJames, 1st Duke of BerwickJames FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
, (1670 – 1734) - Henry FitzJames, 1st Duke of AlbemarleHenry FitzJames, 1st Duke of AlbemarleHenry FitzJames , was the illegitimate son of King James II of England and VII of Scotland by Arabella Churchill, sister of the Duke of Marlborough. He was born in St. James's Square, Westminster, Middlesex, England. He was the brother of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, the French Marshal...
, (1673 – 1702) - Arabella FitzJames, (1674 – 7 November 1704), became a nunNunA nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
.
From her children Henrieta, Countess of Newcastle and James, Duke of Berwick, she is the ancestor of the Earls Spencer
Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
and the late Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
as well as of the Dukes of Berwick, the later Dukes of Alba
Dukes of Alba
Duke of Alba is a Spanish title of nobility accompanied with the dignity Grandee of Spain. In 1472 the title Count of Alba de Tormes, inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, was elevated to the title Duke of Alba by King Henry IV of Castile....
and of Cayenata Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain is the current head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right...
; the person with the most noble titles in the world.
Children with Charles Godfrey
- Francis Godfrey.
- Charlotte Godfrey, b. bef. 1685, married Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount FalmouthHugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount FalmouthHugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for Cornish constituencies from 1702 until 1720 when he was raised to the peerage.-Life:...
. - Elizabeth Godfrey, married Edmund Dunch, son of Hungerford DunchHungerford DunchHungerford Dunch was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660 and from 1679 to 1680.-Biography:In 1660, Dunch was elected MP for both Wallingford and Cricklade for the Convention Parliament...
.