English statesman who gave loyal service to Charles II, James II, and Queen Anne. Although he maintained close links with the Jacobites, he served William III until he quarrelled with his colleagues in 1696. He was Queen Anne’s Lord Treasurer for most of her reign, and in spite of being himself a Tory played an important part in excluding Tories from her government and in securing the Act of Union with Scotland in 1707. Godolphin’s fortunes were linked with Marlborough’s: he financed the duke’s campaigns in the War of the Spanish Succession, but when Marlborough lost favour and the Tories regained influence in 1710 his career ended.