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Duke of Marlborough ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. The name of the dukedom refers to Marlborough in Wiltshire. It is one of the few titles in the peerage which allows for ''suo jure'' female inheritance, and the only current dukedom to do so. ==History of the Dukedom== Churchill had been made ''Lord Churchill of Eyemouth'' (1682) in the Scottish peerage, ''Baron Churchill'' of Sandridge (1685), and ''Earl of Marlborough'' (1689) in the Peerage of England. Shortly after her accession to the throne in 1702, Queen Anne made Churchill the first ''Duke of Marlborough'' and granted him the subsidiary title ''Marquess of Blandford''. In 1678, Churchill married Sarah Jennings (1660–1744), a courtier and influential favourite of the queen. They had seven children, of whom four daughters married into some of the most important families in Great Britain; one daughter and one son died in infancy. He was pre-deceased by his son, John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, in 1703; so, to prevent the extinction of the titles, a special Act of Parliament was passed. When the 1st Duke of Marlborough died in 1722 his title as ''Lord Churchill of Eyemouth'' in the Scottish peerage became extinct and the Marlborough titles passed, according to the Act, to his eldest daughter Henrietta (1681-1733), the 2nd Duchess of Marlborough. She was married to the 2nd Earl of Godolphin and had a son who predeceased her. When Henrietta died in 1733, the Marlborough titles passed to her nephew Charles Spencer (1706–1758), the third son of her late sister Anne (1683-1716), who had married the 3rd Earl of Sunderland in 1699. After his older brother's death in 1729, Charles Spencer had already inherited the Spencer family estates and the titles of ''Earl of Sunderland'' (1643) and ''Baron Spencer'' of Wormleighton (1603), all in the Peerage of England. Upon his maternal aunt Henrietta's death in 1733, Charles Spencer succeeded to the Marlborough family estates and titles and became the 3rd Duke. When he died in 1758, his titles passed to his eldest son George (1739–1817), who was succeeded by his eldest son George, the 5th Duke (1766–1840). In 1815, Francis Spencer (the younger son of the 4th Duke) was created ''Baron Churchill'' in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1902, his grandson, the 3rd Baron Churchill, was created ''Viscount Churchill''. In 1817, the 5th Duke obtained permission to assume and bear the surname of Churchill in addition to his surname of Spencer, to perpetuate the name of his illustrious great-great-grandfather. At the same time he received Royal Licence to quarter the coat of arms of Churchill with his paternal arms of Spencer.〔Paul Courtenay, The Armorial Bearings of Sir Winston Churchill (The Armorial Bearings of Sir Winston Churchill ) (accessed 20 July 2013).〕 The modern Dukes thus originally bore the surname "Spencer": the double-barrelled surname of "Spencer-Churchill" as used since 1817 remains in the family, though some members have preferred to style themselves "Churchill". The 7th Duke was the paternal grandfather of the British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, born at Blenheim Palace on 30 November 1874. The 11th duke, John Spencer-Churchill died in 2014, having assumed the title in 1972. The 12th and present duke is Charles James Spencer-Churchill. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Duke of Marlborough (title)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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