George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, DL (13 May 1844 – 9 November 1892), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1857 and Marquess of Blandford between 1857 and 1883, was a British peer.

Early life

Marlborough was born in England on 13 May 1844. He was the eldest son of

John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, (2 June 18224 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and noble ...

(1822–1883), who served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

and

Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...

, and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane (1822–1899). He was the elder brother of

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...

and the uncle of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. His paternal grandparents were

George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough (né Spencer; 27 December 1793 – 1 July 1857), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1817 and Marquess of Blandford between 1817 and 1840, was a British nobleman, politician, and peer. The great-gra ...

, and Lady Jane Stewart, daughter of Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway. His maternal grandparents were

Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, (born Charles William Stewart; 1778–1854), was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppressi ...

and

Frances Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry (17 January 1800 – 20 January 1865) was an Anglo-Irish heiress and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, 2nd Baronet. She married Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, C ...

. Like his father before him, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, entering in 1857 and being expelled in 1860.

Career

In 1863 Marlborough joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, purchasing a commission in the rank of Lieutenant in the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

. He was initiated into the

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in January 1871 along with his brother Randolph, in the Churchill Lodge in London but resigned in 1872. In the following years, he was also initiated into the

Ancient Order of Druids The Ancient Order of Druids (AOD) is the oldest neo-druid order in the world. It was formed in London, England, in 1781. Its motto is ''Dieu, Notre Pays et Roy'' (old) and ''Justice, Philanthropy and Brotherly Love''. History 28 November 1781, ...

. After succeeding to the Dukedom, Marlborough sold the family holdings at

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village in the Oxford district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. H ...

and

Godstow Godstow is a hamlet about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. ...

in 1884.

Personal life

Marlborough was married twice. On 8 November 1869, he married Lady Albertha Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, at the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. She was unkindly described by her mother-in-law as "stupid, pious and dull". They divorced on 20 November 1883, shortly after Marlborough inherited the dukedom upon the death of his father, having parented four children: * Lady Frances Louisa Spencer-Churchill (1870–1954), who married Sir Robert Gresley, 11th Baronet, on 6 June 1893, and had issue. * Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871–1934) * Lady Lillian Maud Spencer-Churchill (1873–1951), who married Colonel Cecil Grenfell on 6 October 1898, and had two daughters. * Lady Norah Beatrice Henriette Spencer-Churchill (1875–1946), who married

Francis Bradley Bradley-Birt Francis Bradley Bradley-Birt (25 June 1874 – 11 June 1963) was a British diplomat and writer. Biography He began his career as an English member of the Indian Civil Service. His duty in India began in 1896, and he started as an assistant magi ...

on 1 December 1920, and had issue. While married to Albertha, he fathered an illegitimate son Guy Bertrand, later known as Guy Bertrand Spencer (born on 4 November 1881), by Edith Peers Williams who was still married to Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford. In an attempt to pressure Lord Aylesford to drop his divorce suit, Lady Aylesford and Marlborough's younger brother,

, threatened the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...

that they would subpoena the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(who was touring India at the time) as a witness in the divorce. * Guy Bertrand Spencer, whom Marlborough reportedly cared more for than his legitimate children, worked in a brewery. He married, in 1910, Lily Blanche Minnie Saville (1876–1953), who was a coachman's daughter. Spencer served in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. At the end of his life he lived at 2 Glaziers Lane, Normandy, Surrey, England, and died in hospital at Knaphill,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, Surrey, on 31 March 1950. Marlborough married his second wife, Lilian "Lily" Warren Price, the widow of Louis Carré Hammersley, a New York real-estate millionaire, and a daughter of retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Cicero Price. The civil marriage took place on 29 June 1888 at

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...

, with the ceremony officiated by the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

Abram Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887 to 1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from an ...

. A religious ceremony followed the same day, in the chancel of Tabernacle Baptist Church and presided over by its minister, Daniel C. Potter."An American Duchess; The Duke of Marlborough Marries Mrs. Hamersley; A Civil Marriage Ceremony before Mayor Hewitt and a Religious Ceremony in Church", The New York Times, 30 June 1888, page 1 They had no children. The 8th Duke of Marlborough died in 1892, aged 48 at

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

, and was succeeded by his only legitimate son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Gallery

File:Marquis of Blandford Vanity Fair 18 June 1881.jpg, The Marquess of Blandford in ''Vanity Fair'', 18 June 1881. File:Lilian Warren Price00.jpg, Lilian Warren Price. File:Edith Peers Williams, later Countess of Aylesford.JPG, Edith Peers-Williams. File:Alberthahamilton1847.jpg, Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton, his first wife.

References

External links