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Masham, Lady Abigail, née Hill d.1734
English courtier

She was a cousin of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, through whose influence she entered the household of Queen Anne. In 1707 she married Samuel (later Baron) Masham. A Tory and a subtle intriguer, she gradually turned the queen against the Marlboroughs, and superseded her cousin (1710) as the queen's confidante and the power behind the throne. On Anne's death (1714) she withdrew into obscurity.