The Duke of Marlborough has indicated not guilty pleas to strangling his estranged wife on three separate occasions.
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, a relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Princess Diana, is accused of three charges of intentional strangulation against Edla Marlborough.
High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court was told he is accused of striking her several times following an argument in their home’s garden before putting his hands around her neck on 13 November 2022.
The court was told that on 23 April 2023, his wife ran into a laundry room before the defendant allegedly grabbed her, hit her with a closed fist and strangled her.
The duke is also alleged to have pushed her on the bed and assaulted her after putting his hands tightly around her neck on 29 January 2024.
Spencer-Churchill appeared in the dock on Monday and spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address – Blenheim Palace – and indicate he would plead not guilty.
The 70-year-old was granted conditional bail by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring.
He is due to appear at Oxford Crown Court on 5 February, where he will be asked to formally enter his pleas to the charges.
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Spencer-Churchill is known to his family as Jamie and is well known to have had a long battle with drug addiction in his past.
He married his second wife, Welsh ceramicist Edla Griffiths, in 2002 but they separated in 2024.
They have two children together: the equestrian Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill and Lord Caspar Spencer-Churchill, born in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
