Duke of Marlborough fined £500 for speeding 30mph over limit

Charles James Spencer-Churchill – a relative of Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales – was also disqualified from driving for a period of 28 days after he admitted to speeding at 80mph in the 50mph zone in Woodstock Road, Yarnton, on October 18, 2024.

The duke did not attend the hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on Friday afternoon, and was sentenced in his absence after his solicitor entered a guilty plea to the speeding offence on his behalf.

District Judge Kamlesh Rana told the court Spencer-Churchill had a “clean driving record”.

She also imposed a £200 surcharge, and £300 in prosecution costs as part of the duke’s sentence.

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The Duke of Marlborough (Image: PA Video / PA Wire)

Spencer-Churchill was charged with another count of failing to give police information relating to the identification of the driver of a Hyundai in Banbury between November 15 and December 13, 2024.

But the prosecution offered no evidence on Friday after Spencer-Churchill pleaded guilty to the speeding charge.

Spencer-Churchill’s ancestral family home is the 300-year-old Blenheim Palace – Sir Winston’s birthplace – in Woodstock.

The duke does not own the 18th century baroque palace and has no role in the running of the residence and vast estate.

Earlier this year, the Duke appeared at Oxford Crown Court charged with three intentional strangulation offences against his estranged wife Elda Marlborough between November 2022 and May 2024.

Spencer-Churchill is accused of striking Ms Marlborough several times following an argument in the garden of their home before putting his hands around her neck on November 13, 2022.

The court was previously told that on April 23, 2023, Ms Marlborough ran into a laundry room before the defendant, who gave his address to the court 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 Ms Marlborough on the bed and assaulted her after putting his hands tightly around her neck on January 29, 2024.

He had already indicated not guilty pleas in the lower court, however he was not arraigned.

The court heard an application to dismiss the charges would be heard on June 22 this year.

A provisional trial date was set for January 10, 2028 with a time estimate of 10-12 days.

The 70-year-old is on bail.

He has previously spent time in prison. In 1995, he spent a month in prison for forging prescriptions.

In September 2007, he was sentenced to six months in jail on two counts of dangerous driving and one of criminal damage.