Duke of Marlborough denies strangling estranged wife

The Duke of Marlborough has denied strangling his estranged wife three times in an 18-month period.

Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 70, formerly known as Jamie Blandford, is accused of attacking Edla Marlborough in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

He appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court where he indicated he would plead not guilty to three counts of intentional strangulation.

He was released on bail to appear at Oxford Crown Court on 5 February.

The attacks are alleged to have taken place between November 2022 and May 2024.

The twice-married aristocrat, formerly known as the Marquess of Blandford, married his second wife, Welsh ceramicist Edla Griffiths, in 2002.

They are said to have met while she was living in Chelsea and working on her art, and they wed after dating for seven years.

The pair are thought to have separated in 2024.

He inherited his dukedom in 2014, following the death of his father, the 11th Duke of Marlborough.

He is a first cousin, three times removed, of Sir Winston Churchill and a distant relative of the late Princess Diana through the Spencer family.

His ancestral family home is Blenheim Palace in Woodstock – Sir Winston’s birthplace – which is owned and managed by Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation.

The foundation said, in a previous statement, it was “unable to comment on the charges, which relate to the duke’s personal conduct and private life, and which are subject to live, criminal proceedings”.

It added: “The foundation is not owned or managed by the Duke of Marlborough, but by independent entities run by boards of trustees.”