John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, was a British peer. He was the elder son of the 10th Duke of Marlborough and his wife, the Hon. Alexandra Mary Hilda Cadogan. He was known as "Sunny" after his courtesy title of Earl of Sunderland.
His principal seat was Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. He was ranked 224th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2004, with an estimated wealth of £185 million.
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 assumed the management of Blenheim Palace and the Blenheim estate.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 the Witney Conservative Association, the local party of David Cameron.
He died in 2014 at the age of 88.
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:
- John David Ivor Spencer-Churchill, Earl of Sunderland, a godson of Princess Margaret
- Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough ; married, firstly, Rebecca Few-Brown on 24 February 1990. They have one son, George, and were divorced in 1998. In 2002, he married Edla Griffiths, with whom he has two children.
- Lady Henrietta Mary Spencer-Churchill ; married German banker Nathan Gelber in 1980 and they were divorced in 1989. They have two sons.
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 in 2008.
- Lord Richard Spencer-Churchill
- Lord Edward Albert Charles Spencer-Churchill, a management consultant. He dated Annabelle Neilson, a socialite, between 2002 and 2009. He married Kimberly "Kimi" Hammerstroem, a German photographer; they had a civil ceremony at Mayfair Library in London on 4 July 2018, followed by a religious ceremony at Blenheim Palace on 7 July.
- Lady Alexandra Elizabeth Spencer-Churchill