For some time, so long indeed as the victories of the great English general cast a glamour over the policy of his friends, Harley continued to act loyally with his colleagues. But in the summer of 1707 it became evident to Sidney Godolphin that some secret influence behind the throne was shaking the confidence of the Queen in her ministers. The sovereign had resented the intrusion into the administration of the impetuous Lord Sunderland, and had persuaded herself that the safety of the Church of England depended on the fortunes of the Tories. These convictions were strengthened in her mind by the new favourite Abigail Masham (a cousin of the Duchess of Marlborough through her mother, and of Harley on her father's side), whose coaxing contrasted favourably in the eyes of the Queen with the haughty manners of her old friend, the Duchess of Marlborough.