Albertha Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
- Lady Frances Gresley
- Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough
- Lady Lillian Grenfell
- Lady Norah Bradley-Birt
Lady Louisa Russell
Albertha Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, VA (née Lady Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton; 29 July 1847 – 7 January 1932) was an English aristocrat.
Early life
She was born the sixth daughter and tenth child of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Louisa Russell. She was known to her friends and family as 'Goosey'.[1]
As a young woman, aged 18, Lady Albertha Hamilton was one of eight train bearers at the wedding of The Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein on 5 July 1866 at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England.[2]
Marriage and issue
On 8 November 1869, Albertha married George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, eldest son of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough.[3] This was in defiance of the wishes of George's dominating mother, Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who disliked Albertha and described her as "stupid, pious and dull". The wedding was held at the Westminster Abbey and was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.[4]
They had four children:
- Lady Frances Louisa Spencer-Churchill (15 September 1870 – 13 November 1954), married 6 June 1893 Sir Robert Gresley, 11th Baronet, and had issue.
- Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), married firstly Consuelo Vanderbilt (they divorced in 1921) and secondly Gladys Marie Deacon.[5] Had issue.
- Lady Lillian Maud Spencer-Churchill (9 July 1873 – 4 January 1951), married 6 October 1898 Colonel Cecil Grenfell, and had no issue.
- Lady Norah Beatrice Henriette Spencer-Churchill (1 September 1875 – 28 April 1946), married 1 December 1920 Francis Bradley Bradley-Birt, and had no issue.
Her husband was a member of the Marlborough House Set of the Prince of Wales and was involved in a society scandal known as the Aylesford Affair.[6] Heneage Finch, 7th Ear of Aylesford cited Blandford as co-respondent in his divorce petition against his wife Edith Peers-Williams, due to their affair. Albertha and her adulterous husband lived separately after 1875 and signed a formal deed of separation in 1878.[6]
Later life
On 20 November 1883, shortly after Blandford inherited the dukedom following the death of his father,[7] the couple were divorced on grounds of Blandford’s adultery, cruelty, and desertion towards his his wife.[8] Afterwards, though still entitled to be addressed as Albertha, Duchess of Marlborough, she preferred to use the title she had used throughout most of the couple's married life and was known as Albertha, Marchioness of Blandford.
She died in 1932.
Ancestry
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References
- ^ Pearson, John (1 December 2011). The Private Lives of Winston Churchill. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4482-0783-1.
- ^ "No. 23140". The London Gazette. 17 July 1866. p. 4092.
- ^ Schutte, K. (15 May 2014). Women, Rank, and Marriage in the British Aristocracy, 1485-2000: An Open Elite?. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-32780-2.
- ^ Hall, Matthew (5 March 2023). The Royal Princesses of England. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-382-12750-3.
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1985). Blenheim Revisited: The Spencer-Churchills and Their Palace. Bodley Head. ISBN 978-0-370-30848-7.
- ^ a b Dismore, Jane (20 October 2014). "The Duchess of Marlborough and the Aylesford Affair". Royal Central. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Spencer-Churchill, Henrietta (3 September 2024). Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace. Rizzoli International Publications. ISBN 978-0-8478-3350-4.
- ^ Horstman, Allen (1 July 2016). Victorian Divorce. Routledge. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-1-317-26796-6.
