Name John 11th | ||
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Issue John Spencer-ChurchillJamie Spencer-ChurchillHenrietta Spencer-ChurchillRichard Spencer-ChurchillEdward Spencer-ChurchillAlexandra Spencer-Churchill Died October 16, 2014, Woodstock, United Kingdom Children Jamie Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough Spouse Lily Mahtani (m. 2008) Parents Hon. Alexandra Mary Hilda Cadogan, John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough Siblings Lady Sarah Consuelo Spencer-Churchill Similar People Jamie Spencer‑Churchill - 12th Duk, Lady Henrietta Spencer‑Churchill, Charles Spencer‑Churchill - 9th Duke, George Spencer‑Churchill - Marquess, Consuelo Vanderbilt | ||
John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, (13 April 1926 – 16 October 2014) was a British peer. He was the son of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough and his wife the Hon. Alexandra Mary Hilda Cadogan.
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He was a relative of the Duke of Devonshire and a generational cousin of the wartime Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. He was also a distant relative of Diana, Princess of Wales, as both belonged to the Spencer family, and of the Vanderbilt family through his paternal grandmother, Consuelo Vanderbilt.
His principal seat was Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. He was ranked 224th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2004, with an estimated wealth of £185 million. His death was announced on 16 October 2014 by Blenheim Palace.
Life and work
He was educated at Eton College and served seven years in the Life Guards, in which he achieved the rank of Captain. In 1972, on inheriting the Dukedom of Marlborough, he took over the management of Blenheim Palace and the Blenheim estate.
In order to fund the maintenance of the house, he opened it to visitors and as a film set, and established a number of businesses, including a garden furniture company and a water bottling plant.
He was also active in a range of organisations, including the Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board and Oxford United Football Club. He served as Vice President of Witney Conservatives, the local party of David Cameron.
Marriages and issue
Marlborough was married four times and had a total of six children, two of whom died in infancy.
Firstly, he married Susan Mary Hornby, daughter of Michael Charles St John Hornby and Nicolette Joan Ward, on 19 October 1951. They divorced in 1961 after having three children:
Secondly, on 23 October 1961, he married Athina Onassis (née Livanos), former wife of Aristotle Onassis, and daughter of Stavros Livanos. They were divorced in 1971 and had no children.
Thirdly, on 20 May 1972, he married Countess Rosita Douglas-Stjernorp, daughter of ambassador Count Carl Douglas-Stjernorp and Ottora Haas-Heye. They had three children and were divorced on 15 May 2008:
Finally, Marlborough married Lily Mahtani (née Sahni; born c. 1957 in Iran) on 3 December 2008 in the Private Chapel at Blenheim. She was formerly the wife of Ratan Mahtani, a wealthy Indian expatriate businessman, by whom she had three children. There were no children from this marriage.