The Duke of Marlborough has appeared in court to face 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 distant relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales, is accused of three charges of intentional strangulation against Edla Marlborough, 57, his second wife.
He has previously indicated not guilty pleas to those counts during a hearing at magistrates court last month.
Spencer-Churchill, 70, is also charged with two counts of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship towards Marlborough between 29 December 2015 and 8 September 2024, the indictment says. He was not asked to formally enter pleas to any of the five charges when he appeared before Judge Pringle KC at Oxford crown court on Thursday.
He spoke only to confirm his name. He was granted conditional bail. A provisional trial date was set for 10 January 2028.
Last month High Wycombe magistrates court was told that Spencer-Churchill was accused of striking Marlborough several times after an argument in the garden of their home, before putting his hands around her neck on 13 November 2022.
The court was told that on 23 April 2023, Marlborough ran into a laundry room before the defendant – who gave his address 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 Marlborough on the bed and assaulted her after putting his hands tightly around her neck on 29 January 2024, the court heard.
Spencer-Churchill, known to his family as Jamie, is the 12th Duke of Marlborough after he inherited the dukedom on the death of his father in 2014.
He married the Welsh ceramicist Edla Griffiths in 2002 and they have two children. They reportedly separated in 2024.
