Duke faces more allegations relating to estranged wife

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

Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 70, has previously indicated not guilty pleas to three counts of intentional strangulation against Edla Marlborough.

He has also been charged with two counts of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship towards his wife between 29 December 2015 and 8 September 2024, the indictment says.

Oxford Crown Court heard on Thursday an application to dismiss the case had been made, which will be heard on 27 April.

Overseeing the hearing, Judge Ian Pringle KC set a provisional plea hearing for 22 June and a trial in January 2028.

During the appearance, the duke spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood the conditions of his bail.

He was not asked to enter formal pleas for the five charges.

The three attacks are alleged to have taken place in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, between November 2022 and May 2024.

A previous hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court heard the duke is accused of striking Edla Marlborough several times before placing his hands around her neck and squeezing them together before letting go on 13 November 2022.

The court was told the 2022 incident occurred following an argument in the garden of their home.

On 23 April 2023 he allegedly grabbed her hair, before hitting her with a closed fist and then grabbing her neck.

The accusation describes Edla Marlborough running into a laundry room before being attacked.

On 29 January 2024 he is accused of grabbing her "tightly around the neck".

Prosecutors said, the duke, who previously gave his address as Blenheim Palace, grabbed her around the neck before throwing her on a bed.

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."

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