Winston Churchill's Cousin in Some Legal Trouble

A long-running family drama surrounding one of Britain's grandest estates is now headed for a criminal trial. The Duke of Marlborough is accused of repeatedly strangling his estranged wife and subjecting her to years of controlling or coercive behavior, according to an indictment read at Oxford Crown Court. Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 70, is charged with three counts of intentional strangulation of his wife, Edla Marlborough, and two counts of controlling or coercive behavior in an intimate or family relationship between December 2015 and September 2024, per the BBC. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the strangulation charges.

The alleged assaults reportedly took place in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, between November 2022 and May 2024. Details of the accusations, outlined at an earlier hearing, include claims that, on Nov. 13, 2022, the duke struck his wife several times during an argument in their garden, then put his hands around her neck and squeezed. On April 23, 2023, he's said to have grabbed her hair, punched her with a closed fist, and seized her neck as she fled into a laundry room. A further incident on Jan. 29, 2024, is said to have involved him holding her "tightly around the neck" and throwing her onto a bed.

The duke, who is a first cousin, three times removed of Winston Churchill and a distant cousin of Princess Diana, spoke only to confirm his name and understanding of bail conditions. He hasn't yet been asked to enter formal pleas on all five charges. Judge Ian Pringle noted that an application to dismiss the case has been filed and will be heard in April. He set a provisional plea hearing for June 22 and penciled in a trial for January 2028.

The Duke of Marlborough, a twice-married aristocrat who inherited the title and ancestral seat of Blenheim Palace in 2014, married Welsh ceramist Edla Griffiths in 2002; the couple are believed to have separated in 2024. The Guardian notes they have two children. The London Times notes he was previously married to Rebecca Few-Brown, with whom he shares a son. Blenheim Palace is operated by an independent heritage foundation, which has previously said it can't comment on what it calls the duke's private life and ongoing criminal proceedings.