John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford

Marquess of Blandford
Detail of a portrait by the studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller, ca. 1698.
Born	(1686-02-13)13 February 1686
Died	20 February 1703(1703-02-20) (aged 17) King's College, Cambridge
Title	Marquess of Blandford
Parent(s)	John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (13 February 1686 – 20 February 1703) (sometimes called Charles Churchill) was a British nobleman. He was the heir apparent to the Dukedom of Marlborough – as the only surviving son of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an accomplished general, and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, a close friend of Queen Anne. Blandford died childless in 1703, and upon his father's death in 1722, the dukedom passed to his eldest sister, Lady Henrietta Godolphin (née Churchill).

John Churchill was born on 13 February 1686, to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, already an accomplished military man under the service of the future James II of England, and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the youngest daughter of politician Sir Richard Jennings. While Churchill was a Protestant, Jennings was born into a Catholic home. Later in February 1686, the younger John was baptized, while Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, his uncle by marriage to his aunt Frances Jennings, and Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin stood as godfathers. Virtually nothing is known of his childhood, as his parents were not very prominent at the time and not much is recorded.

On 14 December 1702, Anne, Queen of Great Britain and a close friend of the younger Churchill's mother, created the elder Churchill Duke of Marlborough (local ⁱ/ˈmɔːlbrə/ MAWL-brə) in the peerage of England, whence William III and Mary II had previously created him Earl of Marlborough, thus allowing his children, including the younger Churchill, the title of Lord or Lady. The Countess of Marlborough had only given birth to one other son, Charles (1690–1692), and by 1702, the younger Churchill was the couple's only surviving son. After his father's creation, the younger Churchill, as heir apparent to the Dukedom of Marlborough, was awarded the title Marquess of Blandford.