following. But on 28 Dec. Charles landed at Portsmouth, and on the 29th reached Windsor, where he remained till the 31st (Marlborough Despatches, i. 223). He was received by the queen with royal honours; nor could she in any way have more closely and personally identified herself with the policy of the war, and have seemed more resolutely to shut the door against any peace which should fail to establish the Habsburg claimant upon the Spanish throne. (For details of the reception see Luttrell, v. 374–376; and compare Ellis, Original Letters, first series, iii. 356–7, for the queen's letter to Sir George Rooke, 22 Jan., ordering him to ‘pay the same obedience to the King of Spain as to time and manner of his setting sail’ for Lisbon, ‘as you would do to myself.’)
Already in the winter 1702–3 the desirableness of modifying the administration in a sense more favourable to their policy had suggested itself to Marlborough and Godolphin. The zeal of the tories for the war had begun to cool; the jealous ambition of Rochester had helped to make Nottingham recalcitrant, and he had many followers in the commons and some in the ministry itself. In the summer of 1703 the Duchess of Marlborough duly communicated her husband's complaints to the queen, who, in reply to the expression or pretence of a wish on the part of the duke to resign, appealed in pitiable tones to the patriotic devotion of her friends (Coxe, i. 202). The language of this letter encouraged the duchess still further to urge upon the queen the cardinal fact that the whigs were her friends and not the tories; but Anne had too much in common with the latter to give them up even at her favourite's bidding, and the duke was as cautious about throwing himself into the arms of the whigs as they were about an alliance with him and Godolphin. Furthermore, Harley, who contrived to command the confidence of many moderate men of both parties, had already suggested to Marlborough another and a more attractive combination. These manœuvres explain among other things the ministerial changes which followed the duke's departure for the continent in 1704. In his absence, Nottingham declared to the tory high churchmen that the queen was desirous to do everything she could to give them satisfaction, but that she was hindered by Marlborough and Godolphin; and then developed his plan of securing their support to the Occasional Conformity Bill by the celebrated device (the tack) already mentioned. He at the same time made an urgent appeal to the queen herself to make her choice between the whigs and the tories, declaring his resolution to resign if she persisted in retaining the former. The queen, after endeavouring to make him reconsider his resolution, acquiesced in his proposed resignation, and by way of encouragement began by dismissing two of his adherents, Lord Jersey and Sir Edward Seymour. Mrs. Freeman was informed by her friend that ‘something more of the nature, it is believed, will soon happen that will not be disagreeable to her,’ and on 18 May Nottingham formally resigned the secretaryship of state, in which he was succeeded by Harley. A few other changes took place, among which was the appointment of Henry St. John as secretary at war. This rearrangement of the ministry, though it contented Marlborough, is in no sense to be regarded as a whig victory; and Swift either judged rashly or was in a bad temper when he wrote in the preceding February that ‘the queen and House of Lords and half the commons are whigs, and the number daily increases’ (Letters, i. 4; cf. the curious letter from Gwynne to Robethon in Original Papers, i. 690). On the contrary, as late as 21 Nov. 1704, we find Mrs. Morley declaring to Mrs. Freeman, when discussing the course of church affairs in the late reign, that whenever things lean towards the whigs ‘I shall think the church beginning to be in danger’ (Conduct, 158).
The great victory of Blenheim in 1704 was followed by other successes on the Rhine and Moselle. Queen Anne was full of joy. Evelyn describes her appearance at the thanksgiving held at St. Paul's on 7 Sept. for the late great victory. In her rich coach drawn by eight horses she was accompanied by the Duchess of Marlborough only, in a very plain garment, while the queen was resplendent with jewels. The house voted supplies of unheard-of liberality for the prosecution of the war, and presented its address of thanks to Marlborough after his return to England, when he was warmly received by the queen at St. James's on 14 Dec. On 3 Jan. 1704–5 she had the satisfaction of seeing, from the windows of St. James's Palace, the trophies of Blenheim borne to Westminster Hall; and soon afterwards, in reply to an address from the commons, she declared her wish to bestow upon the duke and his heirs for ever the royal manor of Woodstock, asking the assistance of the house to clear off the encumbrances on the estate. Furthermore, she gave orders that a palace bearing the name of Blenheim should be constructed at her own expense in Woodstock Park. Nearly everything that her gratitude and friendship could bestow upon the great general and his consort was now offered them, and as yet their favour
