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Although they no longer lived together, grandmother and granddaughter still saw each other frequently and exchanged two to three letters weekly when they were separated. The
Duchess of Bedford remained the closest confidante of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and was kept informed about all family
446:
of £30,000, with another £100,000 promised as inheritance on the death of her grandmother. The
Dowager Duchess probably hoped and believed that her grandson-in-law would eventually become Duke of Bedford, and he did. The death of her brother-in-law in Spain on 23 October, 1732 made Lady Diana Duchess
310:
Following her mother's death on 29 April 1716, Lady Diana's father married his third wife, Judith
Tichborne, on 17 December, 1716. The marriage produced three children who died in infancy, and ended with Lord Sunderland's death on 19 April, 1722. The Duke of Marlborough died on 16 June the same year.
541:
in prayer upon the death of her favourite grandchild. She had become estranged from all her surviving daughters, and the
Duchess of Bedford was her only grandchild who never disappointed her. Lord Hervey, however, accused the Dowager Duchess of caring more about the return of her granddaughter's
375:
to the
Dowager Duchess on 14 August, 1731: "The person, the merit and the family of Lady Diana Spencer are objects so valuable that they must necessarily have ... caused many such applications of this nature to Your Grace." The Dowager Duchess, however, turned him down too. Waiting for a wealthy
407:, however, preferred a European match. He learned of the scheme through his "infallible spy system" and prevented the union, which led to a further deterioration of his relationship with the Dowager Duchess, already his great rival. The story was only recorded decades later, by Walpole's son
474:
reported that it was deemed so important to prevent the
Duchess from learning about her son's death "that after grand consultation ... it was determined a Child should be brought to replace the Defunct, till she was strong enough to hear the truth and be told it was only a pretender".
387:, despite the initially aloof relationship between her grandmother and his family. By the 1730s, the connection between the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and the King's family became stronger than ever. Rumours began circulating that the Dowager Duchess was plotting to
532:
The
Duchess's grief-stricken grandmother reread and burned all the Duchess's letters, and accused her widower of being responsible for her death. Despite her "contempt for ostentatious piety" and "her religious doubts", the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough reportedly
311:
His widow, now
Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, had closely involved herself with the upbringing of Lady Diana and her siblings since the death of Lady Sunderland. The death of the children's father left them entirely in the care of the Dowager Duchess.
598:
and socialised with royalty; both grew up without a mother from the age of six; both were proposed as a bride for a Prince of Wales; both had an accident during their first pregnancy; and both died unexpectedly at a young age.
593:
in 1997, aged 36, a year after their divorce. Victoria Massey, biographer of the earlier Lady Diana
Spencer, noted the similarities between the lives of the two namesakes: as children, they both lived at
332:
Known to her family as "dear little Di", Lady Diana grew up into a tall, fair-haired, and attractive young woman, and was considered sympathetic and charismatic by her contemporaries. She acted as
352:
In her late adolescence, Lady Diana was at the top of the list of eligible high society brides due to both her looks and her closeness to the tremendously rich
Dowager Duchess of Marlborough. The
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183:
458:
The news of her brother-in-law's death had not yet reached England when, in early November, the pregnant Duchess was thrown from her carriage. The trauma induced the
517:. The illness progressed rapidly, and the Duchess was drastically losing rather than gaining weight. The Dowager Duchess insisted that her granddaughter be moved to
1029:
478:
The Duke soon became obsessed with fathering an heir, and was deeply upset when, few months after the birth of their child, the Duchess's next pregnancy ended in
361:
403:, and the date was agreed on. The Dowager Duchess offered the greatly indebted Prince of Wales £100,000 in return for agreeing to the match. Prime Minister
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Orphaned by the age of 6, Lady Diana, known by her family as "dear little Di", joined the household of her rich and ambitious maternal grandmother,
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Letters of a Grandmother, 1732–1735: Being the Correspondence of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough with Her Granddaughter Diana, Duchess of Bedford
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jewels, which she demanded back from the Duke even before the Duchess was buried. The Duchess of Bedford's lead-lined coffin was placed on a
509:
In the spring of 1735, the Duchess of Bedford started experiencing symptoms of what she believed was her third pregnancy. Whether or not her
353:
357:
340:. In 1723, her grandmother described her as having "more sense than anybody I know of my sex". Growing up as a neighbour of the composer
295:. The Countess of Sunderland was the second-born but favourite and politically most active daughter of the English soldier and statesman
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550:. Her death removed her grandmother's link with the Duke of Bedford, leading to a considerable diminishment in the latter's influence.
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213:. She was her grandmother's favourite grandchild and closest confidante. The highly influential Duchess of Marlborough tried to
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was induced by a carriage accident and who lived for a day. Following a further miscarriage, the Duchess of Bedford died of
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suitor with both a title and appropriate political leanings almost proved to be a great mistake when Lady Diana developed
304:
1034:
585:, after the Duchess of Bedford. Unlike her ancestor, the 20th-century Lady Diana Spencer married her Prince of Wales,
581:, became the father of a daughter whose name was not chosen until a week after the birth. The infant was christened
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573:, which the Duchess had stood to inherit according to her grandmother's plan, passed instead to her brother
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After the planned royal marriage came to nothing, the Dowager Duchess finally settled on the 21-year-old
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was the result of a pregnancy is uncertain, but it soon became apparent that the Duchess had contracted
39:
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482:. The Duchess found herself reproached for not looking after herself properly during the pregnancy.
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on 31 July 1710. She was the second daughter and youngest of five children of the English statesman
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442:. The marriage between Lady Diana and Lord John was celebrated on 11 October, 1731. She brought a
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466:. His baptism was registered on 6 November, but he died within a day and was buried in
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a marriage between her favourite granddaughter and the King's estranged eldest son and
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Already well-liked by the prospective bride's domineering grandmother, the middle-aged
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to her grandmother, who found writing her numerous letters difficult due to her
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399:. The ceremony was supposed to take place in secret in the lodge of the
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Lady Diana spent her early years in close contact with the children of
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attempted to procure her marriage to his grandson, Master Wyndham. The
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and taken through the streets. She was buried on 9 October 1735 at
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to the throne. When the scheme was frustrated by Prime Minister
638:
The First Lady Diana: The Life of Lady Diana Spencer, 1710–1735
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on 27 September 1735, aged 25 and leaving no surviving issue.
423:
The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Diana Spencer, by
293:
Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (née Lady Anne Churchill)
818:
Blenheim revisited: the Spencer-Churchills and their palace
198:; 31 July 1710 – 27 September 1735), was a member of the
704:"Spencer, Charles, third earl of Sunderland (1675–1722)"
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Lay People and Religion in the Early Eighteenth Century
680:"Churchill, Sarah, duchess of Marlborough (1660–1744)"
179:
169:
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133:
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105:
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56:
23:
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344:, Lady Diana gained a lifelong interest in opera.
856:The true Chesterfield: manners, women, education
926:Marlborough's duchess: a study in worldliness
8:
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279:Lady Diana Spencer was born into the rising
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321:'s 1720 portrait of Diana and her brothers
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709:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
685:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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301:Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
297:John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
289:Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
211:Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
174:Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
950:Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words
486:affairs, including financial matters.
1030:18th-century deaths from tuberculosis
816:Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1985).
7:
272:Lady Sunderland and Lady Diana, by
165:John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock
378:tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis
371:proposed marriage by writing from
44:Portrait of Lady Diana painted by
14:
985:Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford
462:of a son named John, possibly in
192:Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford
140:John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
978:
364:were also Lady Diana's suitors.
260:, in 1981, was named after her.
233:, Lady Diana was married off to
151:
1050:Tuberculosis deaths in England
751:Scott Thomson, Gladys (1943).
348:Suitors and royal match scheme
16:English noblewoman (1710–1735)
1:
1020:English duchesses by marriage
1010:18th-century English nobility
878:Blakiston, Georgiana (1980).
702:Snyder, Henry L. (May 2006),
922:Kronenberger, Louis (1958).
299:. Lady Sunderland's mother,
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1060:Frederick, Prince of Wales
1025:Daughters of British earls
1015:18th-century English women
899:Cambridge University Press
397:Frederick, Prince of Wales
204:Frederick, Prince of Wales
854:Connely, William (1939).
634:Massey, Victoria (1999).
37:
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548:Chenies, Buckinghamshire
537:herself on the floor of
258:Charles, Prince of Wales
880:Woburn and the Russells
714:Oxford University Press
690:Oxford University Press
678:Falkner, James (2004),
291:, and his second wife,
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434:, younger brother and
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342:George Frideric Handel
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86:Bedford House (Strand)
987:at Wikimedia Commons
893:Jacob, W. M. (2002).
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1055:Duchesses of Bedford
954:Simon & Schuster
369:Earl of Chesterfield
307:, who died in 1714.
502:, still hanging in
362:Earl of Shaftesbury
274:Sir Godfrey Kneller
184:Lady Anne Churchill
106:Cause of death
48:while she lived in
1035:People from London
792:The Spencer family
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562:Pencil drawing by
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401:Windsor Great Park
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254:Lady Diana Spencer
245:at the age of 25.
225:'s eldest son and
196:Lady Diana Spencer
61:Lady Diana Spencer
32:Duchess of Bedford
983:Media related to
539:Marlborough House
525:. She died there
523:Bloomsbury Square
432:Lord John Russell
358:Viscount Weymouth
235:Lord John Russell
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90:Southampton House
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79:27 September 1735
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480:miscarriage
472:Lord Hervey
994:Categories
908:0521892953
831:0370308484
649:1902809017
603:References
564:Henry Bone
535:prostrated
449:châtelaine
334:amanuensis
305:Queen Anne
264:Early life
124:(by birth)
527:intestate
373:The Hague
134:Spouse(s)
70:, England
948:(2009).
790:(2000).
415:Marriage
360:and the
860:Cassell
596:Althorp
587:Charles
468:Chenies
438:of the
389:arrange
323:Charles
215:arrange
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127:Russell
122:Spencer
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170:Father
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490:Death
464:Cheam
444:dowry
194:(née
162:Issue
150:(
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958:ISBN
903:ISBN
826:ISBN
644:ISBN
591:died
575:John
338:gout
327:John
325:and
250:John
76:Died
57:Born
521:in
451:of
283:in
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