The 12th Duke of Marlborough, a prominent aristocrat and distant relative of Sir Winston Churchill, has been charged with strangling his estranged wife on multiple occasions, a court has heard.
Charges and Court Proceedings
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 70, known as Jamie, is accused of three separate offences of intentional strangulation. The alleged incidents are said to have taken place in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, between November 2022 and May 2024. The charges relate to his estranged wife, Edla Marlborough.
The Duke was summonsed to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court but did not attend. District Judge Kamlesh Rana has listed the case for a plea hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on January 5, 2025. The hearing will be in front of the Chief Magistrate.
A Life of Aristocracy and Personal Struggle
Spencer-Churchill is the 12th Duke of Marlborough, inheriting the title from his father, John Spencer-Churchill, who died in 2014. He is a member of one of Britain's most distinguished families, with lineage connecting him to wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales.
His ancestral home is the world-famous Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, a 300-year-old, 187-room Unesco World Heritage Site. The palace, a gift from Queen Anne in 1704, is owned by a foundation and not by the Duke personally. It recently hosted King Charles for a European leaders' reception.
The Duke, formerly known as Jamie Blandford, has been publicly open about his long-standing battle with drug addiction. He married artist Edla Griffiths in a Woodstock register office ceremony in 2002, though the couple are now believed to be estranged.
The Legacy of Blenheim Palace
While the Duke faces serious criminal allegations, the estate he is associated with continues to celebrate its historical legacy. Last year, a life-size bronze statue of Sir Winston Churchill was unveiled on the South Lawn of Blenheim Palace, marking 150 years since his birth there. The Duke himself unveiled a bust of Churchill in a memorial garden in 2015.
The case continues, with the next key date set for early January at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court.
