The Duke of Marlborough has died, Blenheim Palace has confirmed this afternoon.

A Blenheim Palace spokesman said: "With great sadness, we announce that the 11th Duke of Marlborough passed away peacefully this morning.

"As per his wishes the Palace will be open today."

The Duke was 88. The circumstances around his death has not been released.

The flag at the entrance of Blenheim Palace is flying at halfmast. The Palace confirmed at 2pm the stately home and grounds would be shut tomorrow as a mark of respect.

A spokesman has said this afternoon The Duke's funeral will be on Friday, October 24, although the details are being finalised.

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Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to a man he called a good man and a friend.

He said: "I am greatly saddened to hear of the death of the Duke of Marlborough. To me, he was not only the Vice-President of my Association but also a good man and friend.

"His Grace will be deeply missed by all those he worked alongside at Blenheim and by the town of Woodstock where he played such a positive and active role in the community he loved.

"My thoughts and prayers are with all his family and friends at this sad time."

He was born John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, the Duke was cousin of the war-time Conservative Prime Minister and  a distant relative of Diana, Princess of Wales.

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He had been married four times and has four surviving children. They are his heir Lord Jamie, 58, and Lord Edward, 40, Lady Alexandra, 37, and Lady Henrietta, 56.

His last marriage was in  December 2008 in the Private Chapel at Blenheim to the Iranian-born Lily Mahtani née Sahni, former wife of Ratan Mahtani, a wealthy Indian expatriate businessman.

Oxford Mail:

  • The Duke and his wife. Picture Ben Birchall/PA Wire

He took the title in 1972 following the death of his father John Albert William Spencer-Churchill.

The Duke has devoted his life towards the upkeep of the stately Blenheim Palace, balancing it as a tourist desitnation against preserving the World Heritage site.

He had said: "Although the Battle of Blenheim was won in 1704, the Battle for Blenheim continues in the unceasing struggle to maintain the structure of the building and to obtain the finance for the future."

He introduced the Pleasure Gardens, including the railway, maze and Butterfly House, and also set up the Churchill Exhibition in the Palace. He also restored his father’s private (secret) gardens in 2004, as part of the tercentenary celebrations of the Battle of Blenheim.

He has also overseen the Palace's growth as a venue for a wide variety of events from the filming of big budget movies through to charity events, such as our own Ox5 Run in aid of the Oxford Children's Hospital. The Duke has kindly donated the use of the Palace grounds for that charity event.

Oxford Mail regional sales manager Tom Mitchell said: "We are deeply saddened at the death of the Duke.

"Without his generosity and support the OX5 Run would not have raised the hundreds of thousands of pounds it has over the past 13 years."

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Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth, who is the councillor for Woodstock, said the Duke would be “greatly missed”.

He said: “It is a great sadness to hear of the Duke’s death and my thoughts are with his family.

“The Duke typified everything that was good about the British establishment and he was passionate about the success and development of Blenheim Palace.

“He will be greatly missed.”

Oxford Mail: Barry Norton

West Oxfordshire District Council leader Barry Norton said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the Duke of Marlborough. He has been a good supporter of our district, helping and serving many local organisations and making Blenheim Palace a location that has brought many benefits to the local community.

"The Duke was a very friendly gentleman who will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him."

Woodstock deputy major Mary Robertson said: “Woodstock Town Council is saddened to hear of the death of the Duke, with whom we had a good relationship over the years.

“From today we will be flying the flag at half mast over Town Hall and will be offering our condolences to his family.”

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Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Tim Stevenson said: “The Duke of Marlborough has served Oxfordshire and his country magnificently and was as much a part of county life as Blenheim Palace itself.

“He will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure to know him over many decades.”

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North Oxfordshire MP Sir Tony Baldry said: “I am very sorry to hear that the Duke of Marlborough has died.

“He was a very generous supporter of Oxfordshire-wide charities, frequently allowing Blenheim to be used for fundraising events for organisations such as the Oxfordshire Boy Scouts.”

Edwina Pocock, 64, a retired bank secretary from Witney who was at Blenheim today, said she was saddened by the news.

She said: "I visit Blenheim all the time and walk in the grounds to keep fit. It's a privilege to have the palace on my doorstep."

Sir Charles Ponsonby, Chairman of Oxfordshire Youth, said: “This is sad news, indeed. Over 50 or so years , the Duke was a great supporter of Oxfordshire Youth and its predecessor bodies, Oxfordshire Association for Young People and Oxfordshire Association of Boys’ Clubs, for almost 40 years as President and latterly as patron.

"In particular, he raised much more money for us from private sources than anyone. I also know that Woodstock Youth Club meant a lot to him”.

Sir Charles lives at Woodleys, the neighbouring small estate.

Marlborough School principal Andrew Hanlon recalled when the Duke had laid the school’s foundation stone.

She said: “The Marlborough C of E School is deeply saddened to learn of the death of the Duke of Marlborough.

“The school has enjoyed a special relationship with the Duke and his father since the 10th Duke of Marlborough laid the foundation stone at this school 75 years ago.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, staff and local community of Blenheim and Woodstock at this sad time.” 

The new Duke

Oxford Mail:

The Duke's death means his once troubled son Jamie Blandford, currently known as the Marquess of Blandford, above left, will inherit his father's title and become the 12th Duke of Marlborough.

A Blenheim Palace spokesman said he was unable to comment on whether the Marquess will inherit the palace estate, which is worth around £100 million.

The palace was built in the early 18th century in the opulent baroque style.

The birthplace of Churchill, the 200 square-foot estate has 187 rooms, dwarfing Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

The palace was built as a gift to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, as a reward for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession.

The Marquess spent much of the early 1990s being splashed across the national newspapers as he faced a public battle with drug addiction.

He spent several spells in prison for a string of driving offences, causing some to dub him "the wayward peer".

His turbulent life led to a public estrangement from his father, who branded him the "black sheep" of the family.

In a bid to safeguard the Blenheim Palace estate from the Marquess' excessive behaviour, his father won a court battle in 1994 to ensure he never won control of the family seat.

After the High Court action, the Duke of Marlborough said of his son: ''I think there have been black sheep in every family and there's nothing new about that. We have had some good 'uns and some bad 'uns. He's had every chance, hasn't he?''

The Marquess has a long history of skirmishes with the law.

In 1983 he was fined £100 for assaulting a policeman, and the following year he was sentenced to three months imprisonment for breach of probation.

He was put on probation again in 1985 and fined £1,000 for breaking into a chemist's shop and in 1986 he was convicted of drug offences.

At that time he admitted spending £20,000 on cocaine in four months.

From the late 1980s through the early 1990s he chalked up a record of motoring offences and was repeatedly banned from driving.

In May 1994, he was remanded in custody for three weeks in HMP Brixton after failing to keep appointments with probation officers, and the following month he was put on probation for 18 months and ordered to attend a clinic for drug addiction.

In December 1999 he was rushed to hospital with a missing eyelid, a badly damaged nose, three missing teeth and a broken shoulder after a car ran into his Toyota Land Cruiser in Kiddington, Oxfordshire.

But he reformed his behaviour and in 2012 he featured in a Channel 4 documentary which charted his new relationship with his father.

In a preview for the show, the Daily Mail quoted the late Duke saying: "I am fully confident that James will be able to keep this place (Blenheim Palace) going. But over the top of him - and over the top of me - are trustees.

"You can't predict the future. You never know - God forbid - whether you would get behind the problems again but things are looking much more settled at the moment.

"Trying to keep Blenheim going is a very important part of the family's history and life at the present time, and so what we're trying to do is ensure that Blenheim is kept for future generations."

 

The films and television programmes shot at Blenheim include:

  • The Royals - TV series (Liz Hurley, Joan Collins) 2014
  • Gulliver’s Travels (Jack Black, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Catherine Tate, Billy Connolly) Fox UK Productions, 2010. Watch a clip about this movie
  • The Young Victoria (Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson) Jean-Marc Vallee Director, Producer – Graham King and Martin Scorsese, 2008. Watch a movie about this film
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Brothers, 2007
  • The Libertine (Jonny Depp) Weinstein Company, 2004
  • The Lost Prince BBC Film Talkback Productions, 2003
  • The Four Feathers (Heath Ledger) Paramount Pictures, 2002
  • Kabi Khushi Kabhie Gham Yash Raj films, 2001. Watch Visit Britain TV clip about this movie
  • Just Visiting French time travel movie, 2001 
  • Entrapment 20th Century Fox, 1999 
  • The Avengers Warner Brothers, 1998
  • Hamlet (Kenneth Brannagh) Castle Rock, 1996
  • Inspector Morse, 1995
  • Black Beauty, 1994
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Harrison Ford), 1989
  • Orlando, 1982
  • History of the World, Part 1 (Mel Brooks), 1981
  • Young Winston Directed by Richard Attenborough, 1972

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