2 months ago
13
PA Media
The Duke of Marlborough is due in court on Thursday
The Duke of Marlborough has been charged with intentional strangulation.
The 70-year-old is accused of attacking the same person in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, three times over an 18-month period.
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, formerly known as Jamie Blandford, is a relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales.
He is due to appear before Oxford magistrates on Thursday.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between November 2022 and May 2024, Thames Valley Police said.
Mr Spencer-Churchill, the former Marquess of Blandford, was arrested on 13 May 2024.
The twice-married aristocrat 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 to the late Princess Diana through the Spencer family.
His ancestral family home is Blenheim Palace in Woodstock – Sir Winston's birthplace.
However, he does not own or run the Unesco World Heritage Site.
The duke's representatives have been approached for comment.
