In many publications you can read that one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century was born in somewhat curious circumstances. We checked how plausible this detail of his biography is.

The birth of Winston Churchill in the toilet/dressing room/powder room of Blenheim Palace during a ball at which his mother Jenny danced is recounted in various collections (“1000 and 1 fact», Seti.ee), publications on popular sites (“Peekaboo», "Days.ru»), on social networks (Twitter, Facebook, "Zen»), as well as "Logic problems and puzzles». This story is also popular on West. The general nature of these publications is as follows: during the ball, Jenny began having premature contractions, and she barely managed to run to the nearest suitable room, namely the restroom, where she gave birth.

Indeed, how noted on the website of the World Churchill Community - the most authoritative resource dedicated to the life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill - the famous Englishman was born in 1874 at Blenheim Palace. This family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough was granted to the politician's ancestor in 1704 by Queen Anne for the victory at Blenheim over the French. As for the circumstances of birth, this page does not contain such details. Roy Jenkins in his rather authoritative 900-page work on the life of Churchill tells the following: “He was born on November 30, 1874, largely by chance, in Blenheim Palace, in an unusually dull bedroom. <...> He was due to be born in January in a small but fashionable house in Charles Street (Mayfair), rented by his father specifically for this purpose or, perhaps more purposefully, for use as a base for the somewhat noisy metropolitan life that Lord Randolph and his wife of seven and a half months equally loved. As this house was not ready, they took refuge in Blenheim for the autumn and, as Lord Randolph put it in a letter to his mother-in-law in Paris, "[Lady Randolph] fell on Tuesday while walking with the shooters, and a rather careless ride in a pony carriage led to contractions on Saturday evening. We tried to stop them, but it was no use. Neither the London obstetrician nor his Oxford assistant were unable to arrive on time, although more than 24 hours elapsed from the onset of labor pains to delivery, and the child was born early Monday morning with the assistance of only the Woodstock paramedic."

As you can see, no ball and no toilet. However, this is far from the only detailed biography of the British prime minister. John Pearson in his bookThe private lives of Winston Churchill” makes it clear why the version of premature birth could come to the fore: “The wedding took place at the British embassy in Paris on April 15, 1874, with all the signs of a swift and hidden romance.

Newlywed ladies and Lord Randolph. 1874
*Photo: Wikipedia*

There was neither the splendor that usually occurs at a wedding with such wealth and social status, nor a public ceremony, and few mentions in the press. The Duke and Duchess [of Marlborough] were conspicuously absent. Was [the bride] already pregnant? <…> The data suggests that it could. Otherwise, why the haste, the modest ceremony and the conspicuous absence of the Duke of Marlborough, followed seven months later by the uneventful birth of a strong child, who was christened Winston. At the time, the premature birth was attributed to Jenny's fall during the shooting, followed by a "rather careless and rough pony carriage ride" which apparently caused labor pains. A small room on the ground floor in Blenheim was prepared for the birth.”

This version is confirmed by one of the most detailed works about Churchill’s life - the trilogy “The Last Lion» writer and historian William Manchester. Here is what he writes: “Another circumstance that [the bride] chose to hide from her husband’s family was that she was carrying their grandson. In fact, she was almost certainly three months pregnant, and it would soon begin to show... "Premature"? This is how the information was sold to The Times. The headline of the birth announcement read: "Lady Randolph Churchill's son was born prematurely on 30 November at Blenheim Palace." But no one believed it, not the patrician friends of the family, who laughed at the announcement, not even the yeomen of Woodstock, who, as the Oxford Times reported, "jolly rang church bells in honor of the event." Winston was born to term. It is generally believed that sometime in February, during the maddening negotiations of the marital settlement, Jenny slipped away from her mother, shed the incredible layers of clothing that young ladies then wore, and absorbed Randolph's seed. Indeed, it was believed that the Duke and Duchess knew about Jenny's pregnancy at the time of the wedding - which is why they boycotted it. Sly hints about the circumstances of his birth haunted Winston all his life. He enjoyed them. He replied: “Although I was present at this event, I do not remember very well the events that preceded it.” Of course, it is possible that his parents were slandered. Pregnancy periods vary. Perhaps he was premature. It would have been like him. He could never wait his turn."

More importantly for us, Manchester gives details of the birth of Winston Churchill: “That evening the annual St. Andrew's Ball took place at the palace. To everyone’s surprise, including her husband’s, [Jenny] appeared in a loose dress and with a ball book. She was actually pirouettes on the floor when the contractions started. Randolph wrote to his mother-in-law [Clara]: "We tried to stop them, but to no avail." Actually, the time has come to choose a place for childbirth. Her great-niece Anne Leslie later described the search. Accompanied by servants and Randolph's Aunt Clementine, Lady Camden, she stumbled out of the party, which seemed to have gone on merrily without her, and staggered "past the endless suite of drawing rooms, through the library, 'the longest room in England,'" towards her bedroom.

She didn't have time. She lost consciousness and was carried to a small room off the great hall at Blenheim. It once belonged to the first Duke's chaplain; today it was the women's dressing room. Sprawled, she lay on velvet capes and feather boas, which were deftly pulled out from under her when the ball ended and the cheerful guests left. It was a long night, with servants running back and forth with poultices and towels. The pain, as Randolph reported to Clara, “continued all Sunday.” He wired the London obstetrician whom Jenny had consulted, but because of the Sunday train schedule the doctor could not arrive until Monday. Thus the historic role of hosting England's greatest Prime Minister fell to Frederick Taylor, the Woodstock physician. "The country doctor is a smart man," Randolph reported, "and the baby was safely born at 1:30 this morning after about eight hours' labor. She [Jenny] suffered a lot, poor thing, but she behaved very bravely and did not take chloroform. The boy is amazingly handsome, everyone says that he has dark eyes and hair and a very healthy appearance, considering his prematurity."

Thus, although Winston Churchill's mother was present at the dance when she went into labor, the room where she gave birth was not a women's toilet at all, but an ordinary living space, the former chaplain's room, temporarily used as a place to store outer clothing. This is what this room looks like on the official Blenheim Palace website, where it is named small bedroom:

Where did the story about the restroom come from? Perhaps the whole point is that in English the word cloakroom has two meanings: 1) dressing room and 2) toilet (as a euphemism). A similar ambiguity occurs in Russian texts, since the phrase “ladies’ room” also cannot always mean “toilet.” However, even such a detail as a description of the items of outerwear stored there removes all doubts: there can be no talk of a restroom here.