George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral George Churchill
Admiral George Churchill, by Godfrey Kneller
Born(1654-02-20)20 February 1654
Minterne Magna, Dorset
Died8 May 1710(1710-05-08) (aged 56)
Home Park, Windsor
Buried
Allegiance Kingdom of England
 Great Britain post 1707
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1666–93, 1699–1708
RankAdmiral of the Blue
UnitLieutenant-Colonel Horse Guards 1691
CommandsLord Commissioner of the Admiralty 1699–1708
Battles / warsSecond Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
Nine Years War
Bantry Bay Beachy Head Barfleur & La Hogue
War of the Spanish Succession
RelationsJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (brother)
General Charles Churchill (brother)
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (nephew)
Other workMember of Parliament (MP)
St Albans 1685–1708
Portsmouth 1708–1710  

Admiral of the Blue George Churchill (20 February 1654 – 8 May 1710) was an English naval officer, who served as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 1699 to 1702 and sat on the Lord High Admirals Council from 1702 to 1708. He was Member of Parliament for St Albans from 1685 to 1708, then Portsmouth from 1708 until his death in 1710.

Described by his sister-in-law Sarah Churchill as "a coarse fat man...with uncommon morals",[1] his reputation has suffered in comparison with his brothers, the Duke of Marlborough and Charles Churchill. While considered by some an effective administrator, he made many enemies and achieved high office largely due to his friendship with Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne.

He died in May 1710 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, next to his sister Arabella. He never married but left the bulk of his property to his illegitimate son, George Churchill (1687–1753).

  1. ^ Somerset 2013, p. 185.