Abigail Masham Was No Stranger To Betrayal
Abigail Masham and her family took a significant fall from grace early in her life. But luckily, she found a nepotistic way back up the ladder through her well-connected cousin, Sarah Jennings. That assistance would prove an ill-advised move for that cousin, however, and as Abigail rose in ranks (and quite possibly into a Queen’s pants), Sarah took a plummet from grace.
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1. She Was A Merchant’s Daughter
Abigail Hill was born in London around 1670. Her father was Francis Hill, who was a London merchant, a hopeful member of the rising mercantile class who were on the up as capitalism entered its nascent rise. In that way, then, Abigail had one foot in the new world through her father, and through her mother, one foot in the old.
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2. Her Mother Had Name Recognition
Abigail’s mother was Elizabeth Hill, whose maiden name was Jennings. The Jennings were a once-revered gentry family who had fallen on hard times and taken something of a tumble from grace. Still, Abigail’s association with the family name would come in handy later in life. But first, she had to take a lesson from the school of hard knocks.
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3. Her Father Messed Up
Unfortunately for her family, Abigail’s father was not a very good investor. When she was still young, Francis Hill made a series of terrible speculations, losing almost all his money and leaving the family destitute. And though he likely felt a deep shame at his failures, his next move was far from commendable.
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4. She Faced Abandonment
After Abigail’s father’s poor speculations left the family in poverty, he couldn’t face them anymore: Francis Hill up and left his wife and four young children. It was a devastating start to life for Abigail who, because of her relatively notable connections, should have had some advantages. But perhaps this experience instilled in her a work ethic…and a mind for strategic ladder climbing.
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5. She Became A Servant
Now struggling to put food on the table, every remaining member of the Hill household had to step up to provide for the family, and Abigail was no different. She soon took a job working as a servant for Sir John Rivers of Kent. In contrast to her “lowly” position, however, a relatively obscure relation of Abigail’s was on the rise.
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6. She Had Family In Hight Places
Abigail’s cousin was Sarah Jennings, who, unlike the impoverished merchant’s daughter, was moving up in the world. After marrying into the powerful Churchill family, becoming Lady Churchill, Sarah’s husband got rewarded with an Earlship, making her the Duchess of Marlborough. And although this article is about Abigail, her story is inextricably linked with Sarah’s…and with that of another powerful woman.
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7. Her Cousin Had An In
Abigail’s ladder-climbing cousin soon found herself in another unique position, close to the halls of power: Sarah had befriended a young Princess Anne, and by 1683, was appointed the Princess’s Lady of the Bedchamber. With Sarah’s royal friendship (and possibly more) firmly established, it was time for Abigail to enter the fray.
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8. She Made An Important Friend
While in service to Sir John Rivers of Kent, Abigail established contact with her well-positioned cousin. The women seemed to enjoy one another’s company, and a friendship quickly developed between the two—one that would pay off in dividends for the struggling Abigail, and spell disaster for Sarah. The foundations of the friendship, however, were questionable from the start.
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9. She Was Pitiful
Historians have speculated that Abigail’s and Sarah’s friendship may not have been as wholesome as it seemed. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that Sarah’s taking Abigail under her wing may have been more out of embarrassment at her cousin’s reduced stature than from any true friendship. Such was their difference in luck, in fact, that the existence of a poor cousin was a shock to Sarah.
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10. She Was A Nobody
One justification for Sarah’s embarrassment-based friendship was the fact that, before their association, she had not even been aware her cousin Abigail existed. It was understandable, in a way: the women’s mutual grandfather, Sir John Jennings, had sired an astonishing 22 children, meaning Sarah had a whole mess of first cousins, a flock that would be difficult to parse for anyone. And to her credit, once Sarah did learn of Abigail, she made sure she looked after her struggling cousin.
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11. She Took Her First Step Up The Ladder
With the pity (and humiliation) Sarah felt for Abigail, the well-to-do cousin had to get her beleaguered relative out of the way of prying eyes in Sir John Rivers’ house. To that end, Sarah offered her cousin a job, and with her acceptance, she and her husband took Abigail into their household at St Albans. It was a smooth ride on Sarah’s coattails from there.
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12. She Ran In Royal Circles
1702 saw the ascension of Sarah’s royal friend to the throne as Queen Anne. With her concurrent rise in her role as Lady of the Bedchamber, Sarah set to work buttering the new Queen up to the idea of hiring Abigail too. After two years, Abigail finally received an appointment to the Queen’s household in 1704. It would come to represent the greatest regret of her cousin’s life.
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13. Her Cousin Fell From Favor
Perhaps the Queen’s agreeing to hire Abigail was already a rebuttal of Sarah; the Duchess of Marlborough was frequently absent from court, and Anne was a needy woman who had an unhealthy attachment to the Lady of her Bedchamber. Petulant at the scorn she perceived from Sarah, Anne reportedly grew tired of the Duchess.
This was the first sign of a crack that Abigail would capitalize on.
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14. Her Cousin Was Partisan
There was another big reason for the falling out of Queen Anne and Abigail’s cousin: Sarah was a staunch supporter of the British Whig Party, while Anne was a dyed-in-the-wool Tory.
Sarah would constantly lecture the Queen on what she saw as her ill-advised political opinions, and the duchess often pestered Anne to appoint more Whig ministers (mostly for the political benefit of Sarah’s husband). Abigail quietly observed these quarrels, taking mental notes. But she probably saw something much more scandalous, too.
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15. She Had Scandal At Her Back
Though the nature of Sarah and Anne’s relationship is subject to interpretation, many believe the two women were physically intimate. This presented an advantage to Abigail’s cousin that the Queen bristled at: at one point, the Duchess of Marlborough blackmailed the Queen with the threat of revealing the contents of their correspondence, suggesting those contents were highly scandalous. All of this was enough to force the Queen’s hand.
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16. Her Queen Whispered
With all of Sarah’s transgressions, an opportunity soon presented itself to Abigail. With the blackmail and the political lectures coming from her “favorite," Queen Anne was getting annoyed.
Being a very pious monarch, she would not abandon the “Church Party”, as some called the Tories, and she found the blackmail attempt greatly insulting. Confiding in her Lord Treasurer, she expressed that she felt she could never be real friends with Sarah again. It was Abigail’s time to shine.
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17. She Slid Into The Queen's Good Graces
With Sarah out of her good books, a new spot had opened up to be Queen Anne’s “favorite”. Abigail jumped at the opportunity. She gradually grew much closer to the Queen, becoming her confidante and supplanting her cousin in the Queen’s favor. It wasn’t long before the Queen forgot all about Sarah.
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18. She Became Number One
By 1707, Abigail had fully taken over the role of the Queen’s favorite. She did everything Sarah had previously done, keeping Anne company constantly, spending days on end in her quarters. Again, it is up for historical debate, but it is quite possible that Abigail and Anne were physically involved too. Of course, they had to keep up appearances.
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19. She Was Set Up
To raise her stature (and perhaps throw others off the trail of their “intimate” relationship), Queen Anne privately arranged for Abigail to wed a gentleman of her household in the summer of 1707. That man was Samuel Masham, a courtier of relatively high stature, and with their marriage, Abigail became Lady Masham. This was enough to grab Sarah’s attention.
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20. She Got Noticed
All the while, Sarah had been away from court most of the time and was blissfully ignorant of her cousin’s supplanting her in the Queen’s favor. With Abigail’s marriage, however, she began to suspect something was afoot. After learning that the Queen herself had attended Abigail's wedding ceremony, the news suddenly tipped Sarah off to her protégée's growing favor with the monarch. As more details emerged, her fear only worsened.
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21. She Shocked Her Cousin
Sarah found herself baffled at this new knowledge of Abigail’s intimacy with the Queen, especially because no word had reached her in all this time. She soon learned that her cousin and Anne were considerably intimate, probably in the “way” that Sarah may have been with the Queen. And though Abigail’s motivations were unclear, Sarah was furious.
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22. Her Cousin Felt Betrayed
The emerging news of Abigail’s relationship with the Queen devastated Sarah. She felt her cousin had shown deep ingratitude—after all, it was Sarah who plucked her from her impoverished position and set her up nicely in the Queen’s inner circle. It is unclear if Sarah was correct in her assessment of Abigail, however, and there are a few schools of thought on her motivations…
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23. She Was Innocent...Maybe
Most historians believe that Abigail’s influence over the Queen was not a deliberate scheme. What is more likely is her contrasting personality to Sarah’s: While the Duchess had a hot temper and steadfast adherence to her politics that irked the Queen, Abigail was much more compliant, with a sweet character. Other historians, however, give her more credit.
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24. She May Have Plotted
In contrast to the innocent retellings of Abigail’s story, historian Anne Somerset believes other factors were at play. She posited that there is enough evidence to suggest the Queen’s new favorite was cunning and politically motivated. The proof of this is stronger than the more charitable historians would like to admit.
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25. She Pulled Some Strings
Abigail Masham did, in fact, use her newfound favor with the Queen to her and her family’s advantage. Her cousin was Robert Harley, a Whig-turned-Tory minister, and after he lost his position in office in 1708, Abigail helped the statesman continue his confidential correspondence with the Queen. This came with huge advantages.
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26. She Secured Her Family
Having a line to Abigail Masham and, thus, the Queen was as beneficial as one might expect. Stemming from his correspondence facilitated by Anne’s favorite, Robert Harley was named 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer in 1711, a direct result of his cousin’s string-pulling. A cousin was one thing, of course, but Abigail’s position became truly cemented with the next familial appointment.
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27. She Rose To The Very Top
No event signaled Abigail’s complete ascendancy and her supplanting of Sarah in the Queen’s favor more than the day Lord Marlborough, Sarah’s husband, received direct instruction from the monarch.
Anne compelled Marlborough to grant an important command position to Abigail’s brother, Colonel John Hill. Marlborough was furious at the instruction, but with his hands tied, he reluctantly agreed. With her influence over policy more evident than ever, Abigail made her next move.
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28. She Played Politics
As mentioned, the Queen had a partisan allegiance to the Tory party, and it appeared Abigail Masham shared her position. She began to push for her familial and political allies, and, under her favorite’s influence, Queen Anne dismissed a number of Whig ministers from office to make room for Abigail’s cousin, Robert Harley, and his collaborator, Viscount Bolingbroke. With her grip tightening on the halls of power, there was only one obstacle left in the favorite’s way.
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29. She Watched Her Rival Fall From Grace
1711 saw the grim end of any hope Sarah had of regaining the Queen’s favor. Though it is uncertain whether Abigail Masham played any role, the Duchess of Marlborough, despite her position, was dismissed from the Queen’s court. It was a stunning fall from grace for the once-powerful Sarah, and things only got worse from there for Abigail’s embattled cousin.
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30. Her Cousin Fled
Again, it is unknown how involved Abigail Masham was in the events that followed, but at the very least, she kept quiet from the sidelines as she watched her cousin fall further still. Shortly after her dismissal from court, Sarah’s husband, the Duke of Marlborough, got charged with embezzlement.
Faced with impeachment from an unsympathetic court, the couple decided to flee the country, taking refuge in Germany. Despite the advantages the Jennings association had once brought Abigail, the name was now disgraced.
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31. She Put Her Cousin In Danger
It wasn’t just impeachment threats that caused Abigail’s cousin to flee Britain. A whole campaign of slander got launched against the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough—their reputations sullied by the press. Public opinion for Sarah and her husband tanked to the point where passersby began pelting stones at their windows. Her cousin’s safety was the price Abigail paid for her new position.
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32. She Got A Promotion
Upon Sarah’s exile, the duchess’s administrative position opened up, and Abigail Masham quickly filled that vacuum. From her humble origins as an impoverished servant, the Queen’s favorite had risen to the rank of Keeper of the Privy Purse. Now managing Anne’s finances as well as her moods, Abigail soon learned that a relationship with such a volatile Queen had its ups and downs…
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33. She Was The Queen's Plaything
With the help of his cousin Abigail’s position, the political machinations of Robert Harley continued. With Lord Marlborough’s exile, Harley sought to consolidate his position in the House of Lords and convinced the Queen to create 12 new peers in the government, known as Harley’s Dozen.
One of these was Abigail’s husband, Samuel Masham, who got raised to the position of Baron. This should have meant a promotion for Abigail too, but the limits of her stature began to show: Anne was a petulant and childish Queen and refused to raise Abigail to any position that would make her less available for the Queen’s amusement. By 1713, Abigail was still Woman of the Bedchamber, and if she felt frustrated by this, at least she had another cousin to take it out on.
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34. She Turned On Allies
Abigail’s cousin Harley had now risen to Lord Oxford and Mortimer, and there is a chance that Abigail began to resent his rise while she remained static in the Queen’s service. She began quarreling with her powerful lord cousin, and as she had possibly done with Sarah, made sure to manipulate the Queen’s opinion of him too.
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35. She Encouraged A Rift
Luckily for Abigail Masham, she did not have to work hard on cutting this cousin down to size. Queen Anne herself had already developed a growing distaste for Minister Harley, and in true savvy fashion, Abigail did everything she could to foster this deteriorating opinion. Political differences were also beginning to develop between the trio.
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36. Her Politics Changed
Concurrent with this conflict between Abigail Masham and Harley was a much larger one for the Kingdom: Queen Anne had no surviving heirs. None of her children had survived much further than infancy, and this issue of succession created a split in the House of Lords between the Jacobites and the adherents of the Hanoverian succession to the Crown.
While Harley wavered between these factions, Abigail began to favor the Jacobite party, led by two of her political allies. Harley’s vacillation only strengthened Abigail’s distaste for him, and the quarrel culminated in some dramatics at court.
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37. She Got Scrappy
By 1714, any previous allegiance Abigail Masham and Harley had shared had completely disintegrated. Things got so heated that the two got into an altercation—all in the presence of the aggrieved Queen Anne. Abigail was still the Queen’s favorite, however, and this meant that her cousin Harley’s options began drying up.
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38. She Defeated Another Cousin
Likely at Abigail’s encouragement, Queen Anne finally dismissed Harley, Lord Oxford and Mortimer, on July 27, 1714. The Crown stripped the minister of his position as Lord High Treasurer, and Abigail quietly declared herself the victor. For all her Machiavellian scheming and political acumen, however, not everyone got on Lady Masham’s bad side.
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39. She Earned Respect
In her time, Abigail Masham certainly had her admirers. The Anglo-Irish poet, Jonathan Swift, spoke very highly of her: he praised her character, clearly admiring the capabilities of the unassuming Lady of the Bedchamber. Tragedy would soon strike, however, and it would pose a devastating threat to Abigail’s comfort.
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40. She Lost Her Lifeline
On July 30, 1714, after a few years of ailing health, Queen Anne had a devastating stroke that left her completely mute. Abigail Masham, by her side the whole time, watched helplessly as the Queen’s condition rapidly deteriorated. On August 1, Queen Anne passed at the age of just 49. For Abigail, the vultures immediately began to circle.
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41. She Got Evicted
The incoming monarch naturally saw no more use for Abigail Masham at court; until that point, she and her husband had been living in a home at the royal palace, but they got promptly booted by King George I. Fortunately for the Mashams, however, their proximity to the Queen for so many years had made them considerably wealthy. Abigail’s exit from court was not nearly as dramatic as Sarah’s had been.
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42. She Found Refuge
Abigail Masham and her husband retired to a manor near Windsor. A short time later, Abigail’s father-in-law, Francis Masham, passed, and though the loss was sad, it presented a perfect opportunity for the younger Mashams: the evicted couple settled into Otes, the Masham home in Essex, to live out their remaining days peacefully. And that’s just what they did.
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43. She Retired In Peace
Abigail lived quietly for another 20 blissful years before finally passing at Otes in 1734. She was around 64 years of age, and her life post-court had been largely uneventful. Indeed, it seems she had gotten quite attached to her new surroundings.
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44. She Found Her Resting Place
Abigail’s remains rest in her adopted home, the village of High Laver in Essex, in the churchyard of All Saints' chapel, after a dramatic life of secret affairs and Machiavellian intrigue. But what of the woman who gave Abigail her chance in the first place?
45. Her Rival Cleared Her Name
Abigail’s cousin Sarah, meanwhile, did not stay exiled indefinitely. After King George I came to power, the new monarch exonerated Lord Marlborough of the embezzlement charges (although the records are unclear whether he actually committed the crime—he might have!) and the couple was allowed to return to England. Sarah dismissed the whole affair as “a frivolous and groundless complaint," and she would later write much more about the ordeal.
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46. Her Cousin Had The Last Laugh
By sheer bitter persistence, Sarah got the last word on Abigail Masham. The Duchess of Marlborough lived to an impressive (especially for the time) 84 years of age, far outliving her betraying cousin, and she took full advantage of Abigail’s absence from this mortal plane: not long before her own passing, Sarah published her memoirs, which mercilessly smeared Abigail’s name and reputation. It was brutal.
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47. She Got Raked Over The Coals
Her cousin painted Abigail Masham as a monstrous traitor, and Sarah’s savage words are worth quoting at length. She condemned the Queen’s favorite as “instrumental in doing the greatest mischief that a nation can suffer, the reducing of it from the most flourishing to at least a very dangerous condition; & as acting the most ungratefully and injuriously to a person to whom she owes her very bread”. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, and Abigail lost in the court of public opinion.
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48. Her Reputation Got Damaged
Sarah’s final move worked: for the longest time, historians largely remembered Abigail Masham as a traitorous wench. Sarah’s family, the Churchills, on the other hand, grew historically revered, and some of her most famous descendants include Winston Churchill and Princess Diana. Abigail could not compete with that, and she faded into historical obscurity…until an interesting Greek filmmaker revived her image…
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49. She Made The Silver Screen
In 2018, Greek writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, known for his surreal and disturbing movies, produced The Favourite, a film depicting the love triangle between Abigail, Sarah, and Queen Anne. Portraying Abigail on-screen was actress Emma Stone, whose performance received critical acclaim; the film itself, too, got widely praised and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The accuracy of the story, however, was questionable.
Screenshot from The Favourite, Fox Searchlight Pictures (2018)
50. She Got Fictionalized
Abigail’s story in itself made for a compelling plot, but Lanthimos was upfront about the historical accuracy of his film, stating bluntly that “Some of the things in the film are accurate and a lot aren't”. Still, the movie comes at this author’s personal recommendation—it’s a riot, with incredible performances, and an insight into the dynamics and intrigue of one of history’s allegedly queer relationships.
Screenshot from The Favourite, Fox Searchlight Pictures (2018)
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