NO CHOKE

Churchill’s Relative Faces New Charges in Bizarre Strangling Case

The Duke has been slapped with new allegations of controlling or coercive behavior.

Prosecutors have brought new charges against the Duke of Marlborough, a relative of wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, accusing him of coercive or controlling conduct toward his estranged wife. The latest claims against Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 70, follow after he was already charged over three separate strangulation incidents involving Edla Marlborough between 2015 and 2024. Churchill’s representatives have submitted a claim to have the case thrown out in Oxford Crown Court in the U.K. It is scheduled for consideration on April 27, with a trial penciled in for January 2028. The alleged assaults are said to have taken place in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Previous hearings detailed claims of physical attacks following disputes at their home. The duke, whose title is tied to the region’s glamorous Blenheim Palace, has otherwise been married to Elda, nee Griffiths, a Welsh ceramic artist, since 2002. A heritage foundation overseeing his estate said it could not comment on the case.