Duke of Marlborough faces allegations of controlling or coercive behaviour

The Duke of Marlborough faces allegations of controlling or coercive behaviour towards his estranged wife, as well as accusations that he strangled her on three occasions, according to a court indictment.

Charles James Spencer-Churchill – a relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales – is accused of three charges of intentional strangulation against Edla Marlborough.

He indicated not guilty pleas to those counts during a hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court last month.

Spencer-Churchill is also charged with two counts of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship towards Ms Marlborough between December 29 2015 and September 8 2024, the indictment says.

He was not asked to formally enter pleas to any of the five charges when he appeared before Judge Ian Pringle KC at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday.

The defendant, 70, sat in the dock wearing a suit and tie, and spoke only to confirm his name.

He was granted conditional bail.

A provisional trial date was set for January 10 2028.

High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court was told last month that Spencer-Churchill is accused of striking Ms Marlborough several times following an argument in the garden of their home, before putting his hands around her neck on November 13 2022.

The court was told that on April 23 2023, Ms Marlborough ran into a laundry room before the defendant – who gave his address to the court as Blenheim Palace – is alleged to have grabbed her, hit her with a closed fist and strangled her.

The final allegation is that the duke pushed Ms Marlborough on the bed and assaulted her after putting his hands tightly around her neck on January 29 2024, the court heard.

Spencer-Churchill, known to his family as Jamie, is the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a member of one of Britain’s most aristocratic families.

The duke married his second wife, Welsh ceramicist Edla Griffiths, in 2002, but they separated in 2024.

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.

They had a daughter, the equestrian Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, in 2007 and a son, Lord Caspar Spencer-Churchill, in 2008.

Ms Marlborough became the Duchess of Marlborough when Spencer-Churchill inherited his dukedom following the death of his father, the 11th duke, in 2014.

Spencer-Churchill’s ancestral family home is the 300-year-old Blenheim Palace – Sir Winston’s birthplace – in Woodstock.

The duke does not own the 18th century baroque palace – and has no role in the running of the residence and vast estate.