William and Mary
James II caused a crisis when his wife, who was a Catholic, produced a healthy son which would mean a Catholic succession. Powerful Protestants at Court wrote to William of Orange to encourage him to intervene and take the Crown. William landed in England with an army in November 1688. Churchill, who was James’s Lieutenant-General (leader of James’s army) and other powerful men from Court left the King’s camp and went over to William.
William ruled jointly with his wife Mary. Churchill was at the centre of political circles but never quite gained the favour and rewards from the King for which he hoped. He was given the title of Earl of Marlborough in 1689 but this was not enough. He had wanted to be made Master of the Ordnance, Captain General of the Armed forces (i.e. Commander in Chief) and he particularly wished for the Order of the Garter. These were not granted to him because William did not trust Marlborough. When William faced rebellion in Ireland by supporters of James II, he kept Marlborough out of the main fighting. William himself faced the rebels at the Battle of the Boyne. The new Earl of Marlborough was sent to the south of Ireland to deal with another group of Jacobites. In 1692 Marlborough was arrested and stripped of his civil and military posts because he had been in contact with the exiled King James II. Marlborough, disappointed by his lack of promotion had thought it advisable to build bridges with James in France. He was imprisoned in the tower for six weeks on a charge of treason. There was not enough evidence to bring Marlborough to trial and he was released. Churchill wrote to William ‘In all things but [my religion] the King may command me.’