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Montagu (Hist. MSS. Comm. 7th Rep. p. 202). On 10 Jan. 1683-4 he succeeded his father as third Lord Montagu of Boughton. At the accession of James II he lost the post of master of the robes, which was given to Lord Preston. Nevertheless he still hoped for employment, and boldly announced to Lord Rochester his intention of attending the coronation. 'I know not how unfortunate I may be as to be under his majesty's displeasure, but I know the generosity of his nature to be such, that, as Louis, duke of Orleans, when he came to the crown of France, said it was not for a king of France to remember the quarrels and grudges of a duke of Orleans, so I hope his majesty will be pleased to think the king is not to remember anything that has passed in relation to the Duke of York, for whatever my opinions were when I delivered them, being trusted by the public, they are altered now I am become his subject, knowing myself obliged, by the laws of God and man, to hazard life and fortune in the defence of his sacred person, crown, and dignity' (, Correspondence of Henry Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, i. 114). Montagu was allowed to return to England, and was very well received by James. It was even reported that he was to be made secretary of state, or again employed as ambassador to France (ib. i. 522; Ellis Corresp. i. 154-9).

At the revolution Montagu was one of the first to embrace the cause of William III. He was made one of the privy council (14 Feb. 1689), and William created him Viscount Monthermer and Earl of Montagu (9 April 1689). But Montagu, who had taken an active part in the debates on the deposition of James II, did not regard this as sufficient reward. On 18 May 1694 he wrote to William, setting forth his claims to a dukedom at length. He represented the oldest branch of one of the oldest English families; he had been one of the first, and had held out to the last, in that cause which had brought William to the crown. Lastly, he had won over three wavering peers to vote against the proposed regency, and thus decided the question whether William should be king (, ii. 256). This request was refused, but a suit at law restored to Montagu his lucrative mastership of the wardrobe (, Diary, ii. 48). He increased his wealth still further by a second marriage. The Countess of Northumberland died in September 1690, and on 8 Sept. 1692 Montagu married Elizabeth Cavendish, eldest daughter of Henry Cavendish, second duke of Newcastle, and widow of Christopher Monck, second duke of Albemarle [q. v.] She was very rich and very mad, and was said to have declared that she would give her hand to nobody but a crowned head. Montagu wooed and won her in the character of Emperor of China (, Biographical Hist. ed. 1804, iv. 158;, Letters, ed. 1880, viii. 514; , Diary, ii. 563). The mad duchess lived till 1734, and was kept in such close seclusion that it was rumoured she was dead, and that her husband concealed her death in order to retain the enjoyment of her 7,000l. a year (, Westminster Abbey Registers, p. 341;, Strafford Papers, p. 79). The marriage resulted in several lawsuits concerning the Albemarle property, one of which, between Montagu and the Earl of Bath, lasted for seven years, and cost the two litigants 20,000l. between them. It was finally settled in October 1698 by a compromise, but not until four or more of Montagu's witnesses had been convicted of perjury, suborned, as it was asserted, by one of his chaplains (, Vernon's Letters to the Duke of Shrewsbury, i. 240, 287, 303;, iii. 140, iv. 78, 355, 443).

On 2 March 1705 Montagu's son John (1688?-1749) [q. v.], who succeeded him in the dukedom, was married to Lady Mary Churchill, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Marlborough (, Annals of the Reign of Anne, viii. 373;, Diary, v. 537). The marriage was a political alliance, dictated by Marlborough's desire of making his political position secure against a possible combination of whigs and tories (, Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, ii. 9-16). As a consequence Montagu at length attained the goal of his ambition, and was raised to the dignity of Marquis of Monthermer and Duke of Montagu (12 April 1705). He survived his promotion four years only, dying at the age of seventy-one on 9 March 1708-9 (, p. 522).

Montagu left, besides his son John, a daughter, Anne, who married Alexander Popham of Littlecote, Wiltshire. An elder son, Ralph Winwood, died in May 1702 (, Peerage, iii. 469;, v. 170). Two engraved portraits of Montagu are among the Sutherland collection in the Bodleian Library (Catalogue, i. 648). Macky describes him as 'of a middle stature, inclining to fat, of a coarse, dark complexion.' Swift adds the very just comment, 'as arrant a knave as any in his time' (, Secret Services, &c., 1733, p. 44;, Works, ed. 1824, xii. 237). If Montagu was perfectly unscrupulous in obtaining money, he at least knew how to spend his wealth with dignity. His public entry into Paris as ambassador in 1669 'was so magnificent that it has scarce