BLENHEIM PALACE
Just after 7pm, the President set off in the Marine One helicopter to the 2,000-acre, 187 room palace in Oxfordshire for a dinner hosted by Theresa May. The palace was built by Sir John Vanbrugh between 1705 and 1733 to celebrate a victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession. Queen Anne gave the surrounding land and £240,000 to build the palace to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, the military commander who led the Allied forces in the Battle of Blenheim on 13th August 1704. Sir Winston Churchill was born here on 30 Nov 1874. It was used as a convalescence hospital for soldiers during WWI and in WWII it housed 400 boys evacuated from Malvern College. It was opened to the public in 1950 and in 1987 was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The President’s arrival was marked by a military ceremony, with bandsmen of the Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards playing the Liberty Fanfare, Amazing Grace and the National Anthem.