The Duke of Marlborough, Charles James Spencer-Churchill, has been charged with three counts of intentional strangulation relating to incidents said to have taken place over an
18-month period.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the allegations, which date from November 2022 to May 2024, involve a single complainant and are alleged to have occurred in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
Spencer-Churchill, 70, was arrested on 13 May last year and has now been instructed to appear before Oxford magistrates court on Thursday.
The duke, known informally within his family as Jamie, is a member of one of Britain’s most prominent aristocratic families. He is a relative of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill and is also linked to Diana, Princess of Wales, through the Spencer family line.
Spencer-Churchill inherited the Marlborough title following the death of his father in 2014. Prior to that, he was known as the Marquess of Blandford. His ancestral home is the historic Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, where Churchill was born.
Despite the family connection, the duke has no control over the 18th-century estate. Ownership and management are handled by the Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation, established after legal measures taken by the late 11th Duke in 1994 to prevent his son from assuming control.
In a statement, the foundation said it was aware of the criminal proceedings but could not comment while the case is active. “The foundation is not owned or managed by the Duke of Marlborough, but by independent entities run by boards of trustees,” it added.
Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO world heritage site and major visitor attraction, has frequently featured in national headlines — including in 2019, when thieves stole a £4.75m 18-carat gold functioning toilet in a high-profile burglary.
The duke has previously spoken about struggles with drug addiction. Photo by Jvhertum, Wikimedia commons.
