Donald E. Wilkes, Jr. Collection: Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland

 Robert Spencer the Second Earl of Sunderland 1641-1702

The Younger Years

            Robert Spencer was the middle of three children.[1]  He had an older sister Dorothy and a younger sister Penelope.[2]  His father, Henry Spencer, was made first Earl of Sunderland by Charles II, but died young at the age of twenty-three fighting for the King at Newbury.[3]  He left behind his twenty-six year old wife, Dorothy, the daughter of Robert Sidney the Second Earl of Leicester, and the three children.[4]  Robert was two at the time of his father’s death.[5]  Upon his father’s death, Robert succeeded to the earldom and became known as the second Earl of Sunderland.[6]  Lady Sunderland, Robert’s mother was a staunch Anglican who opened her home to the deprived clergymen of the Anglican Church.[7]  In fact, Robert’s teacher throughout his younger years was Dr. Thomas Pierce an ejected Fellow from Magdalen College.[8]  Robert later attended Christ Church College, Oxford University and it was here that he gained a reputation for intellectual excellence.[9]

            In May of 1661 at the age of twenty, Sunderland took a seat in the House of Lords.[10]  This was the beginning of what would be a life long commitment to politics.  It was to be a career that would bring out his best and worst qualities as a human being.

            In 1663 Sunderland was to marry Lady Anne Digby, who was only seventeen at the time, but Sunderland got cold feet and on the eve of the wedding he disappeared.[11]  He returned some eighteen months later to find his bride still waiting for him, and they were finally married on June 9, 1665.[12]  Lady Anne Digby was a sincere woman and was “the perfect foil for her over-sensitive, irritable, and highly-intelligent husband.”[13]  Although Sunderland loved to gamble and spend money “he was a model husband and an indulgent father.”[14] Together they settled at Althorp and had five children together, Robert, Anne, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Charles.[15]

Political Career under Charles II

            Henry Bennet Earl of Arlington, a good friend of the Digby family and an influential Secretary of State, helped to get Sunderland his first political appointment under Charles II.[16]  In 1688, Sunderland received his first assignment to go to Madrid as an envoy to attempt to prevent an alliance from forming between Spain and Holland against France.[17]  Sunderland failed in his attempts and was transferred to the position of ambassador to France in Paris on March 11, 1672.[18]  A year later Sunderland was recalled to London and was appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber in October 1673.[19]  It was in that same year that Sunderland made one of his most important friendships when he met the Duchess of Portsmouth.[20]  The Duchess of Portsmouth was one of Charles II’s most beloved mistresses and Sunderland quickly became her confidential advisor and social intimate.[21]  This relationship would prove helpful in the future when Sunderland needed a way to influence the King.

            Sunderland’s goal was to become Secretary of State, but as soon as he thought the position was in his grasps, Charles II sent him to France to try and salvage the Anglo-French Treaty and to secure for England a place in the peace settlement.[22]  When he finally returned to London he found the Popish Plot in full swing.[23]  “At the end of 1678 he was a well-connected nobody, scarcely known outside Whitehall . . . by 1681 he was a national figure enjoying considerable European repute . . .”[24]

            Finally, on February 9, 1679, Charles II ordered Sir Joseph Williamson to hand the seals over to Sunderland and he was named the new Secretary State.[25]  This appointment placed Sunderland at the forefront of political affairs a position he would occupy several times in his career.[26]  One of his first orders of business was to replace the old Privy Council with a new council of thirty.[27]  Sunderland’s was determined to bring into politics people such as Shaftesbury, a dissident leader of the Whigs, all in an attempt to buy off those who were opposed to the policies of Charles II.[28]

            Although his political career had taken off, things took a downward turn during the Exclusion Crisis of 1679 to 1681.  During that crisis, Sunderland supported excluding James Duke of York from taking the throne after Charles II and instead supported the succession of William and Mary of Orange.[29]  The Exclusion Bill suggested that the Crown should act as though James were legally dead causing the throne to pass directly to William’s wife, Mary Princess of Orange.[30]  Sunderland voted to support the bill to exclude James Duke of York despite the King’s adamant opposition to it, this decision led to Sunderland’s dismissal from Secretary of State on January 24, 1681.[31]  The Exclusion Bill failed and Sunderland was forced to give the seals to Lord Conway.[32] 

However, because of the strong relationship he had created with the Duchess of Portsmouth, she was able to convince the King to reinstate Sunderland to his position as Secretary of State.[33]  Sunderland told the King that he had voted for the Exclusion Bill because it was bound to fail and that the alternative of voting against the bill would have limited the prerogative.[34]  “Sunderland admitted all his past faults in due form, pledged his future good conduct, and gave the most comprehensive assurances of his personal loyalty and devotion.”[35]  Sunderland had learned his lesson and from that point forward “. . . no policy, provided it carried the stamp of royal approval, would be too outrageous for his acceptance; and whenever he ventured to lead his master it would be from behind.”[36]  Sunderland was reinstated to the position of Secretary of State on January 31, 1683.[37]  He had risen back to the forefront of politics.

During the rest of Charles’s reign, he rarely acted without Sunderland’s advice particularly in the realm of foreign affairs.[38]  Sunderland was willing to do just about anything to gain influence and power over the King, realizing that it was only with the approval of the Crown that he would become more powerful as a politician.  Then on February 6, 1685 Charles II died and James Duke of York took the throne becoming James II.[39]  With the death of Charles came the end to the influence of the Duchess of Portsmouth on English politics and with that Sunderland began to lose his influence in the Court.[40]  Sunderland “had gambled and lost” he had assumed like many other politicians of the time that Charles II would outlive his brother James.[41] “He thus found himself wrong-footed at the outset of the new reign, and had to do some nimble footwork to earn the approval of James II.”[42]

Sunderland and the Reign of James II

            Luckily for Sunderland, James realized that he would need to keep Sunderland around in order to keep England’s relationship with France alive; after all, Sunderland had gained the support and trust of Louis XIV throughout Charles’s reign.[43]  In addition, unlike many of the King’s close advisors, Sunderland had no strong religious beliefs and thus he was willing to support the crown despite James’s strong Catholic beliefs.[44]

Sunderland’s first task under the rule of James was to convince Louis XIV to give James a sum of money so that James could defy an already uncooperative Parliament.[45]  Louis XIV was not eager to provide such support but agreed to give James a satisfactory sum. 

Despite Sunderland’s relationship with France, his position as Secretary of State was far from secure, as James seemed to prefer the foreign policy and advice of Rochester.[46]  Despite his rivals influence over the King, Sunderland maintained what power he had by presiding over the suppression of the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion.[47]  “Sunderland’s only ambition [was] ‘to reserve to himself some secret part of the King’s confidence, by convincing him that he could have no attachment save only to him.’”[48]  Despite the rumors that Sunderland was sure to lose his position as Secretary of State; on December 4, 1685 he was appointed Lord President of the Council, without being required to resign his lucrative post of Secretary of State.[49]  “[H]is retention of the principal Secretaryship of State enabled him to combine the highest titular dignity open to a layman with the widest administrative control.”[50]  Somehow, Sunderland had used his intellect and persuasive abilities to rise in influence and push Rochester out.  Unlike Halifax and Rochester both of whom disapproved of the use of the dispensing power to appoint Catholics to positions of power despite the Test Act, Sunderland was unwilling to openly object to such a policy.[51]  His willingness to change his policies and beliefs on a whim allowed him to remain in good standing with whoever was in power.

            With the new found influence that came with his position as both Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council, Sunderland took it upon himself to create a secret council that was to meet and discuss which policies should be proposed to the King.[52]  This council was known as the Jesuitical cabal and consisted of all Roman Catholics, whose job it was to advise the King on all matters affecting the interest of the Roman Catholic faith.[53]  One of the suggestions made to the King was that the Test Acts should be repealed.  As a result of such a policy statement, Sunderland made it clear that he no longer considered himself a member of the Anglican Church.[54]  This did not mean that Sunderland was ready to commit himself to the Catholic Church, but rather was a sign that he was headed in that direction.  Sunderland understood that now that James was in power in order to have the type of influence he needed and wanted, he would have to make it known that he supported the Kings religion, Catholicism.[55]  “Sunderland was displaying that chameleon-like adaptability usually associated with his name; he was trying to guess the King’s wishes in advance and moderate them in the execution.”[56]  In a final attempt to get rid of his rival, Rochester, Sunderland convinced the King that Rochester needed to convert to the Catholic faith in order to be completely trustworthy.[57]  Although Rochester agreed to listen to the views of the Anglican and Catholic divines he was not persuaded to convert and was thereby dismissed from the position of Lord Treasurer.[58]  Sunderland was now free to exercise his full influence over James unencumbered by the views of Rochester.

            James continued to try and get a Parliament that would agree with his decision to repeal the Test Act and the Penal laws but was having little success.[59]  While Sunderland was generally willing to support the King and his policies, James’s ever increasing radical policy decisions began to put Sunderland at odds with the King.  James wanted to go in and remove those in charge of Oxford, Cambridge, and Magdalen replacing them with Catholic leaders.[60]  This infuriated the people of England, as these were the schools where most noblemen had been educated and no one wanted the schools to come under Catholic domination.  The English people had already seen the Catholic religion take over the throne and attempt to replace all positions of high government in the hands of Catholics, but they were not ready to have Catholic influence everywhere.  Although Sunderland did not agree with James’s policy regarding these universities, he was in no position to put up any resistance as James was already beginning to question his loyalty.[61] 

Things in England were beginning to get out of control; the people resented the King’s lack of respect for the laws and his willingness to dispense of laws without the agreement of Parliament and they were feeling the domination of the Catholic faith in what had been an Anglican and Protestant country.  In an attempt to assuage those opposed to the King’s policies in particular his Edict of Toleration, which suspended the penal laws against protestant nonconformists and Catholics, Sunderland attempted to get William and Mary to support the Edict.[62]  His attempts failed and the result was that Sunderland lost credit with James.[63]

Then in October 1687, it was determined that the Queen was pregnant.[64]  Sunderland was convinced that the child would be a son and therefore he would be the heir to the throne, not Mary.  As a result, Sunderland decided to attempt to further ingratiate himself with James II by finally declaring himself a Catholic.[65] Most saw this conversion as a political move and did not believe that Sunderland was a changed man, others saw this as a sign of weakness; Sunderland had allowed himself to be pushed into a corner and was so desperate he took the only step he thought possible, converting to the Catholic faith.[66]

Sunderland’s goal was to postpone the calling of a new Parliament until after the birth of the child; he knew that before Parliament could be called it needed to be full of supporters of the King.[67]  Realizing that if the child was not a boy that Sunderland would be stuck he attempted to bring himself closer to Louis XIV, that way if Princess Mary took the throne Sunderland would have a safe haven in France.[68] In early March 1688 the cabinet council was called to discuss whether to call Parliament now or to wait until after the child was born and for once Sunderland spoke publicly on the issue.[69]  He said “he believed that the meeting of this parliament would prove decisive, and its results, good or bad, were of such consequence that before convening it they must be morally certain of success, in so far as this was possible.  By his first-hand knowledge of the measures taken in this matter, and by the forecasts of certain private observers, he had been brought to realize that in the present state of affairs they had little chance of success, and they would be ill-advised to put such an important matter — upon which so much depended — to the mercy of chance.”[70]  Sunderland prevailed and James agreed to postpone Parliament, this proved to be a turning point for Sunderland and it appeared that he was regaining his influence over James.

The Downfall of James and the Glorious Revolution         

When James decided to re-issue his Declaration of Indulgence there was mass resistance among the clergy and the people.[71]  The Clergy refused to read the edict as demanded by James; in fact, seven Bishops petitioned James to renounce the declaration.[72]  This out right defiance outraged James and he decided to prosecute the seven bishops.  Sunderland was against prosecuting the bishops, he argued that it was questionable whether the bishops had actually broken any laws and even if they had their offense was not one that should not be punishable under the law.[73]  Sunderland knew that prosecuting the bishops would not bode well for James in the future and thus he suggested that the King simply admonish them for their unaccountable behavior and dismiss them.[74]  He suggested that “the King might with grace and majesty announce to the world that he was deeply hurt by the undutiful conduct of the Church of England; but that he could not forget all the services rendered by that Church, in trying times, to his father, to his brother, and to himself; that, as a friend to the liberty of conscience, he was unwilling to deal severely with men whom conscience, ill informed and unreasonably scrupulous, might have prevented from obeying his commands; and that he would therefore leave the offenders to that punishment which their own reflections would inflict whenever they should calmly compare their recent acts with the loyal doctrines of which they had so loudly boasted.”[75]  However, James was never one for compromising or giving in and therefore, the bishops were sent to trial.  This hurt Sunderland’s creditability because it became known that his advice had been outright rejected by the King.[76] 

When the Queen gave birth early, Sunderland again tried to convince James that this would be the time to pardon the bishops, but James refused.[77]  However, no matter what Sunderland’s position was on prosecuting the bishops he was willing to change his stance to gain James’s support.  As such, Sunderland agreed to testify in open court in order to prove the publication of the Bishop’s petition.[78] Sunderland swore in front of the court that the Bishops had informed him of their intention to present the King with a petition regarding the Declaration of Indulgence.[79]  While this was not enough to convict the Bishops it once again showed Sunderland’s willingness to change his views in order to gain favor in the eyes of the King. 

            The Seven Bishops were acquitted and Sunderland knew that steps had to be taken quickly to appease the dissenters.  He quickly requested that James reduce his demands and put restraints on Catholics in order to calm the Protestants.[80]  Sunderland tried to convince James that the repeal of the penal laws in matters ecclesiastical and the Test Act was enough, and that to exclude Catholics from office except by individual dispensation by the King would help to reassure dissenters that the Catholics were not being shown any additional favor and that there was still respect for the laws.[81]  It appeared as though Sunderland instinctively knew that the King’s policies were leading him down a destructive path.  However, as usual James refused to make any concessions.  He had in his mind that granting concessions and compromising would lead to his downfall like it had his father.  What he failed to recognize was that his lack of compromise would ultimately lead to his downfall.[82]  Things were on shaky ground for the Crown and for Sunderland.

            In August 1688 when it was announced that the Dutch planned to attack England, James finally called a Parliament.[83]  Sunderland seemed convinced that with the help of the French and the dissenters that this invasion could be fought off.  Unfortunately, Sunderland miscalculated the support he had from both.[84]  “While his administrative experience made him virtually indispensable in the detailed day to day transactions of government, or anything demanding specialized knowledge, his influence on the direction of high policy was intermittent. . .”[85]  Sunderland was in a bad place, “the roughness of his temper, exacerbated by tension, worry and disappointment, had left him without a friend in the upper circles of government.”[86]  He had placed himself in a precarious position by converting to the Catholic faith, he was generally hated by all Catholics and distrusted by the Protestants, his position and his career were sinking.[87]  He had successfully saved his career three previous times in 1673, 1682, and 1685 but he no longer had the strength to do so again, “the internecine struggle for supremacy at James II’s extraordinary Court had driven him to the edge of a nervous breakdown; the imminent prospect of personal danger finally pushed him over.  He surrendered himself entirely to the dictates of blind panic.”[88]  When it became clear that Prince William had the support of the country, Sunderland tried one last time to get James to reverse his policies, but he had lost his influence over James and on October 27, 1688 he was relieved of the seals.  Two days later he was dismissed from the privy-council.[89]

It was rumored that Sunderland had secretly been in discussions with William and was a traitor to James and that this was the reason for his ultimate dismissal from Secretary of State.[90]  However, there is no evidence to support the idea that Sunderland had in any way been involved in Prince William’s invasion or that he ever tried to undermine James.  It would make little sense for Sunderland to finally have decided to convert to the Catholic faith if his ultimate goal was to have the Protestant William takeover the throne.[91]  “Scarcely any evidence would convince reasonable men that Sunderland deliberately incurred guilt and infamy in order to bring about a change by which it was clear that he could not possibly be a gainer, and by which, in fact, he lost immense wealth and influence.”[92]  Nevertheless, Sunderland was aware of the rumors and as soon as he was dismissed, he went straight to James to request that the King declare that he did not doubt Sunderland’s loyalty, the King obliged.[93]

It did not take long for James to realize that many of his supporters had in fact gone to support William and his efforts.  Both James and Sunderland had badly miscalculated, and what they had believed to be merely rumor had come true, William’s invasion of England was successful.[94]  James fled England, and the throne was later declared vacant on January 28, 1689 by the Convention that has assembled at Westminster.[95] 

Sunderland under William of Orange

Before William had secured the throne, Sunderland attempted to seek asylum in France, but Louis XIV refused.[96]  As a result, Sunderland fled to Holland, but it was not long before Admiral Arthur Herbert tracked him down, arrested him and had him thrown into prison.[97]  Sunderland was so defeated that he did not make any appeals to his arrest, but luckily his loving wife did everything she could to secure his release.[98]  William sent orders to release Sunderland on February 8, 1689.[99]  In response to such a kind gesture, Sunderland immediately began writing William thanking him for his support.[100]  Fearful of the charges that would be brought against him and James’s other officials, Sunderland tried to persuade the English people that he had never fully converted to Catholicism and had never accepted the faith, he even went so far as to have this declaration printed and distributed.[101]  In these distributions, Sunderland highlighted the fact that he had opposed the dissolution of the first Parliament under James, that he had opposed the trial of the seven bishops, that he tried to get James to refuse French aid in 1688, all in an attempt to convince Parliament and the people of England that he had not been a full supporter of James or his policies.[102]  Luckily for Sunderland, William sent down an act for general amnesty for those who had supported James and the act was passed.[103]

Sunderland returned to his estate, Althorp, and seemed content spending his days with his wife and children, but this would not last long.[104]  In May of 1690, Sunderland returned to England and reconverted to the Protestant faith.[105]  This did not matter to William, who thought of the past as a closed book and was ready to look to the future.[106]  What William did see was a man who had great experience and adaptability and William was in desperate need of reliable and efficient men to help him run the government.[107]  However, unlike James who would have made a rash decision and appointed Sunderland to a position, William knew that the people of England were not ready for such an appointment.  William kept in contact with Sunderland often seeking advice behind the scenes; finally, in the spring of 1691 William asked Sunderland to be Secretary of State.[108]  Initially, Sunderland refused, but after William helped pay out his ever increasing debt, Sunderland recognized that he owed William for these generous acts and thus had the duty to repay William for his generosity.[109]  In reality, public service was the only way to keep Sunderland financially afloat because of his reckless gambling.[110]  However, William saw this as an opportunity to help out a gifted politician who would be useful to his reign. 

Sunderland became a confidential advisor to William starting in the spring of 1692, but did not take the official title of Secretary of State.[111]  Sunderland convinced William to back the Whig party rather than to work with a mixed cabinet of Whigs and Tories.[112]  Although he was regarded as one of the most powerful men in the government, Sunderland held no ministerial office, but rather was regarded as the “minister behind the curtain.”[113]  This would not last forever, however, because in 1697, Sunderland was appointed Lord Chamberlain.[114]  Soon, Sunderland was forced out of office by a distrustful Whig Parliament.[115]  He gave William his resignation, Sunderland’s storied life in politics was finally at an end.[116]  Five years later on September 28, 1702 Robert Spencer, Second Earl of Sunderland, died some six months after the death of William.[117]  Sunderland died of a heart condition and was buried at Brington on October 7, 1702.[118]

He had made his mark in politics and history during the reign of Charles II, James II, and William of Orange.  Although he was known for his ruthless, immoral ways he had been a part of the Glorious Revolution.  He was a careful, calculated politician, in fact some considered him to be a political genius, but he was “an arrogant, cynical, hard-nosed politician,” who was known more for his hypocrisy than for his honesty.[119]  Despite his many years in office, and his vast political experience, he failed to see the coming of the Glorious Revolution.  His miscalculations helped lead to the downfall of James II.  However, it is doubtful that he would have been able to change the events of history, as James likely would not have listened to any warnings.  Even if Sunderland had been able to warn James of the Revolution it likely would not have mattered, James had gone too far with is powers and had lost the support of his people.  It was time for a new beginning in England.