Blenheim Palace (pronounced BLEN-em) is what the Duke of Marlborough calls home (and it’s one of England’s largest). Seriously. It was built on land once owned by Queen Anne, which she gifted to the 1st Duke of Marlborough along with £240,000 as a reward for defeating the French forces at the Battle of Blenheim (hence the name). However, each duke must pay “rent” to the Sovereign in the form of a new, symbolic standard (a banner with three fleurs de lys, which is the French royal standard) on every Battle of Blenheim anniversary. Imagine paying rent with one banner a year!
The family motto “Fiel Pero Desdichado” can be seen on the East Gate’s doors. The phrase translates as “Faithful but Unfortunate.” Probably not the most optimistic family motto.
I have to say that it’s a little eerie standing on the portico with giant eyes staring down at you, but also pretty cool. The eyes are another unique Palace element, but also one of mystery…it is not known for sure what the eyes mean or whose eyes they are. However, there are a couple strong theories.
The eyes were originally painted in 1928 for Gladys Deacon, the American-born second wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough who was famed for her blue eyes. Gladys captioned a photograph showing the eyes being painted, “Colin Gill painting our eyes.” “Our” may refer to the Duke and Duchess or to Gladys and her friend, Consuelo Vanderbilt, American heiress and first wife of the 9th Duke who famously referred to her two sons as “the heir and the spare.”
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the Palace, but I can tell you that we saw where Sir Winston Churchill, nephew to the 8th Duke of Marlborough, was born. More impressive, though, were works of art painted by Sir Churchill himself. I thought he was quite good!
A weary warrior removing his sandal after a hard day of battle.
And to soften the rough, warlike edges…who doesn’t love rubber duckies? Actually, I’m sure that topiary is probably a high art form and my flippancy may appear callous. But, seriously, when I look at these shrubs all that goes through my mind is, “Rubber ducky, you’re the one…”
On a more serious note, here you can see the rear of the Palace on the far left, which faces out towards a very large, grassy area, and on the right is the hedge that surrounds the private Italian Garden, which is adjacent to the Palace’s side containing the private apartments.
Blenheim Palace has so much to see and do, but we couldn’t stay any longer, unfortunately.
Here’s one last glimpse at what Rick Steves calls “one of England’s best,” and I agree.
Thanks go to Wikipedia, Rick Steves’ Great Britain, and Blenheim Palace’s website for much of the information contained in this blog post.