This article is the subject of a legal complaint from Alexander Wood.
A 33-year-old man has been charged with theft after he allegedly posed as the Duke of Marlborough and racked up a bill for more than £1,800 at a luxury London hotel. Alexander Christopher Wood, 33, of Southend-on-Sea, was charged on Thursday after staying at the Great Northern hotel in King’s Cross.
Wood is alleged to have booked in for four nights at the hotel under the name of the Duke of Marlborough, according to a report by the Camden New Journal. He allegedly signed in as Lord Jamie Spencer but was detained by staff when he attempted to leave the building. He has been bailed to attend Highbury magistrates court on 26 June.
The actual Duke of Marlborough, Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 59, is known as Jamie Blandford. He inherited his title as the 12th duke in 2014 after the death of his father. Blandford is a distant relative of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and his family’s historic residence is Blenheim Palace. Described by Tatler as “arrogant, wild and irrepressibly mischievous”, Blandford has had several run-ins of his own with police.
