Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill | |
Birth Name: | Lord Charles Spencer |
Birth Date: | 3 December 1794 |
Death Place: | London |
Placeofburial: | Kensal Green Cemetery |
Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
Branch: | British Army |
Serviceyears: | 1811–1832 |
Rank: | Lieutenant-colonel |
Unit: | 52nd Regiment of Foot 75th Regiment of Foot |
Battles: |
Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill (née Spencer; 3 December 1794 – 28 April 1840) was a British Army officer and politician. He was the second son of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough and Lady Susan Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway.
His surname was Spencer until 1817, when his father changed his and his children's surname to Spencer-Churchill (by royal licence dated 26 May 1817). Spencer entered the British Army in 1811, and he served in Spain and France. He transferred from the 85th Foot to the 75th Foot as a captain in 1824. He purchased a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in 1827 and sold his commission in 1832. From 1818 until 1820, he also represented St. Albans in the House of Commons.
He married Ethelred Catherine Benett on 24 August 1827 and had five children:[1]
Spencer-Churchill was returned to Parliament in 1830 as member for the family borough of Woodstock, but went out in 1832 when the representation of that borough was reduced by the Great Reform Act. He replaced his elder brother, the Marquess of Blandford, in 1835, but having joined the Whigs was defeated in the election of 1837. Lord Charles was previously a Tory and, unlike his brother, did not support Reform.[5]