You Winston, You Lose Some

Day: 178

Towns / Cities Visited: 110

Countries Visited: 22

Steps Taken Today: 17,315

Steps Taken Around the World: 2,999,049

Another day dawned and we arose for our next adventure. A quick breakfast and we were in the car, shuttling off to a destination which would be the one and only source of our entertainment and education for the day; Blenheim Palace. Now its always good to start with a little background so let me give you the brief version. Blenheim Palace, despite its name, is not owned by the royal family, but is rather the ancestral property of the Duke of Marlborough. It was constructed between 1705 and 1722 on a parcel of land gifted to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, after his military success in the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, where the British fought against the French and the Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession. The construction was funded by Queen Anne until she had a falling out with the Duchess of Marlborough, the wife of the 1st Duke, who was once her closest confidant. After their quarrel the Queen withdrew her funding, and the Duke and Duchess went into exile on mainland Europe, not returning until the day after the Queen’s death. It was only then that the palace was completed at the expense of the Duke himself. One of the most interesting facts about this Dukedom, is that when the 1st Duke died, his two sons had already passed away childless, leaving the succession of the title up in the air. However before his death…