The Duke of Marlborough, Charles James Spencer-Churchill, has been accused of strangling his estranged wife, according to court documents. The 70-year-old aristocrat faces three charges of intentional strangulation between November 2022 and May 2024.
The duke was summoned to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Thursday following his arrest in May last year but was unable to attend. District Judge Kamlesh Rana stated that the case will proceed to a plea hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on 5 January.
The charges relate to alleged incidents in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The duke, known to his family as Jamie, is the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales. He inherited the title in 2014.
The duke married his second wife, Edla Griffiths, in 2002, and they separated in 2024. They have two children together. The duke's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace, is owned and managed by the Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation, which has declined to comment on the proceedings.
