The Duke of Marlborough | |
|---|---|
 A portrait from 1989 of then Marquess of Blandford by Allan Warren | |
| Tenure | 16 October 2014 – present |
| Predecessor | John, 11th Duke of Marlborough |
| Full name | Charles James Spencer-Churchill |
| Other titles | Earl of Sunderland (1955–1972) Marquess of Blandford (1972–2014) |
| Born | Charles James Spencer-Churchill 24 November 1955 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Residence | Blenheim Palace |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue | George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill Lord Caspar Spencer-Churchill |
| Heir | George, Marquess of Blandford |
| Father | John, 11th Duke of Marlborough |
| Mother | Susan Mary Hornby |
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 24 November 1955), styled Earl of Sunderland until March 1972 and Marquess of Blandford until October 2014, and often known as Jamie Blandford or Jamie Marlborough, is a British peer and the current Duke of Marlborough.
He is the eldest surviving son of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and his first wife, Susan Mary Hornby. As a member of the Spencer family, he is a distant relative of the war-time Conservative Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and of Diana, Princess of Wales, born Lady Diana Spencer. He is also a stepbrother of the late Christina Onassis, who was the stepdaughter of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was once married to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, by the second marriage of his father with Athina Livanos. He is also a descendant of the prominent American Vanderbilt family through his great-grandmother Consuelo Vanderbilt.
Born in Oxford,[1] he was educated at Harrow School[2] and the Royal Agricultural College.[3] In a bid to safeguard the Blenheim Palace estate from the then Marquess's excessive behaviour, his father won a court battle in 1994 to ensure he never won control of the family seat, but their relationship may have improved later.[4]
Tatler reports that in the 1990s, the Happy Mondays' lead singer Shaun Ryder remarked "If I was born into dough, I'd have done nothing forever. Like Jamie Blandford. He's fuckin' cool. I'd definitely produce his record."[5]
In 1995, he spent a month in prison for forging prescriptions.[6] In September 2007, he was sentenced to six months in jail on two counts of dangerous driving and one of criminal damage following a "road rage" attack on another motorist's car.[7] At the same time, he was banned from driving for three and a half years.[8] In 2013, he was accused by a Sikh cab driver of abusing the driver with racist language.[9]
In 2021, seven years after having succeeded to the Dukedom of Marlborough, he successfully stood for election to Woodstock Town Council.[10][11]
In 2022, Spencer-Churchill was taken to court by Porsche Financial Services for "refusing or failing to pay the outstanding £64,472.70 balance on the Cayenne E-hybrid Turbo S model he bought in July 2018."[12]
On the death of his father in 2014, the Oxford Mail noted the new duke's "well-publicised drug addiction" and reported that a spokesman for Blenheim Palace had said "the Palace will remain under the control of trustees", but that the 12th Duke could himself become one of the trustees.[13] The Daily Telegraph reported that "The responsibility of maintaining one of Britain's grandest country houses for future generations now passes to 58-year-old Jamie Blandford, as he is commonly known, following a remarkable turnaround in his relationship with his late father, who once described him as the 'black sheep' of his family."[14]
On 24 June 2009, he appeared in a BBC Television documentary, Famous, Rich and Homeless, in which famous people were filmed spending three nights in the open with nothing but a sleeping bag, though he refused to "sleep rough". He claimed that on the first night he slept in the car park of a five-star hotel, though his sleeping bag was discovered unopened, and on the second night he demanded to be housed in a hotel. He refused to participate further despite giving an assurance that he would sleep rough on the third night, and ended his participation on that night. Another participant, Hardeep Singh Kohli, said that Blandford's behaviour was "disrespectful to all the people out there".[15]
His first wife was Rebecca Mary Few Brown (born September 1957, Bangor, Wales). They were married on 24 February 1990 at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Woodstock. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1998. They had one son, who is now heir apparent to the Dukedom of Marlborough:
His second wife is Edla Griffiths (born 1968, Abergavenny, Wales), whom he married at Woodstock Register Office on 1 March 2002. They have two children:
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