Duke of Marlborough is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. In historical texts, unqualified use of the title typically refers to the 1st Duke. The name of the dukedom refers to Marlborough in Wiltshire.
Blenheim Palace is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough has become a well-known example of one of the advantageous, but loveless, marriages common during the Gilded Age. The Duke obtained a large dowry by the marriage, and reportedly told her just after the marriage that he married her in order to "save Blenheim Palace", his ancestral home.
Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough,, styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative politician, and a close friend of his first cousin Winston Churchill. He was often known as "Sunny" Marlborough after his courtesy title of Earl of Sunderland.
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, 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 nobleman. He was the paternal grandfather of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
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.
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough, styled Earl of Sunderland until March 1972 and Marquess of Blandford until October 2014, and often known as Jamie Blandford or Jamie Marlborough, is an English peer and the current Duke of Marlborough.
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA, styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books.
George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, DL, styled Earl of Sunderland until 1857 and Marquess of Blandford between 1857 and 1883, was a British peer.
Lord Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill was the younger son of the 9th Duke of Marlborough and his first wife, the former Consuelo Vanderbilt, an American railroad heiress. His elder brother, John, was the 10th Duke of Marlborough.
Saint-Georges-Motel is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France.
Louis Jacques Balsan was a French aviator and industrialist, born at Châteauroux (Indre) in 1868, who was the second husband of society beauty Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough. He married her immediately after her divorce from the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1921.
Edwin Fairman Russell was an American newspaper publisher who had joined the Royal Navy to fight Germany before the United States entered World War II.
Gladys Marie Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough was a French American aristocrat and socialite. She was the mistress and later the second wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.
George John Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, styled as Earl of Sunderland until 2014, is a British aristocrat and polo player. He is a model and brand ambassador for La Martina, an Argentinean polo clothing and accessories company. As the heir apparent to the Dukedom of Marlborough, he uses the courtesy title of Marquess of Blandford.
Frances Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, was a British noblewoman and socialite. She was variously Viscountess Long, Countess of Dudley and became Duchess of Marlborough upon her fourth marriage, to John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough. She was the sister of novelist Hugo Charteris and Ann Charteris, as well as the granddaughter of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss. Her third husband, Michael Temple Canfield, was the former husband of Lee Radziwill, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. During World War II, she served as an auxiliary nurse.
Jane Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, formerly Lady Jane Stewart, was the first wife of George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough.
Lady Rosemary Mildred Muir is an English aristocrat who served as a maid of honour to Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953.
Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd Murat was an eccentric American heiress, dancer and sometime actress.
Château de Saint-Georges Motel is a château in Saint-Georges-Motel, in the Eure department in northern France, that was built in the early 17th century. The Château was listed as a French historical monument on 9 June 1977.
