John Evelyn, her most intimate acquaintance, transferred his friendship to her infant son, took general charge of his education, and continued to further his welfare as he grew.

His first public appointment was joint registrar of the Court of Chancery on 29 June 1698, which he held until 20 January 1727.

He was classed as a Tory and on 26 February 1702, supported the motion vindicating the Commons’ proceedings against the Whig ministers.

He was returned for Helston at the 1702 English general election, but with the Administration headed by his father, he began to switch his loyalty to the Court.

He was appointed Lord Warden of the Stannaries, high steward of the Duchy of Cornwall, and rider and master forester of Dartmoor at the beginning of 1705.

At the 1705 English general election, he tried to unseat two Tackers when he stood for the Cambridge University constituency but was defeated.

At the 1710 British general election, he decided not to stand at Oxfordshire, was defeated at Penryn, but was returned as MP for Tregony on the Boscawen interest.

He was named high steward of Woodstock on 18 March 1728 and appointed Governor of the Scilly Islands on 18 April 1733.

During the king's absence from Britain in 1723, 1725, and 1727, Godolphin acted as one of the lord's justices of the United Kingdom.

The pocket borough of Helston, not far from his ancestral home, Godolphin House, was under his patronage for many years and sent his nominees to Parliament.

It is said that he read only two works: Burnet's History of my own Time and Colley Cibber's Apology.

It aimed to tackle the problem of child abandonment by providing an orphanage where parents could leave babies they considered themselves incapable of raising.