George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford


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.

Early life and family

He is the son of Jamie Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough and his first wife, Rebecca Mary Few Brown. Lord Blandford is a distant relative of the wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and of Diana, Princess of Wales. He is also a descendant of Consuelo Vanderbilt.
He and his family are notable for being involved in a high-profile legal dispute around 1993, when his paternal grandfather sought to disinherit Lord Blandford's father. Since his father has had a controversial past, including serving time in jail for forging prescriptions and road rage, Lord Blandford was announced as the financial beneficiary of his grandfather's estate. His inheritance was to include Blenheim Palace, a 187-room mansion set on 2,000 acres in Oxfordshire.

Education and subsequent activities

He was educated at Harrow School, where he was captain of the school's polo team. From 2011 to 2014, he attended University College London, where he studied urbanisation. In March 2015, he started working as an aviation broker at JLT Group in London.
He began serving as a model and brand ambassador for the La Martina brand of polo clothes and accessories in 2015. His "Blenheim Polo Team" plays at Cirencester Park Polo Club in Gloucestershire.
In December 2018 he successfully rowed across the Atlantic in a time of 35 days finishing second place in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Subsequently, he set a Guinness world record for the fastest all related team of 4 to cross the Atlantic from east to west. He raised over £850,000 for the children's charity starlight in the process.

Marriage

Lord Blandford married Camilla Elizabeth Antonia Thorp, a descendant of the Tempest baronets of Tong, Yorkshire, on 8 September 2018 at St Mary Magdalene Church, Woodstock.
Attendees of the wedding included Lady Violet Manners, Lord and Lady Bamford, Andrew Parker-Bowles, and Lord Milford Haven.
In 2020 they announced that they were expecting their first child.