The Duchess's grief-stricken grandmother reread and burned all the Duchess's letters, and accused her widower of being responsible for her death. Despite her "contempt for ostentatious piety" and "her religious doubts", the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough reportedly prostrated herself on the floor of Marlborough House in prayer upon the death of her favourite grandchild. She had become estranged from all her surviving daughters, and the Duchess of Bedford was her only grandchild who never disappointed her. Lord Hervey, however, accused the Dowager Duchess of caring more about the return of her granddaughter's jewels, which she demanded back from the Duke even before the Duchess was buried. The Duchess of Bedford's lead-lined coffin was placed on a gun carriage and taken through the streets. She was buried on 9 October 1735 at Chenies, Buckinghamshire. Her death removed her grandmother's link with the Duke of Bedford, leading to a considerable diminishment in the latter's influence.
