Albertha Spencer-Churchill, Duchess Of Marlborough

Albertha Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, née Hamilton, was born on 29 July 1847 and died on 7 January 1932. She was an English aristocrat known for her lineage and marriage into the Spencer-Churchill family.

Her parents were James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Louisa Russell. She was the sixth daughter and the tenth child in her family. Her upbringing included participation in notable social and ceremonial events, such as serving as one of eight train bearers at the wedding of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein on 5 July 1866 at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England. She was known among her acquaintances as "Goosey" and had a reputation for being highly respectable as well as possessing a sense of humor evidenced by her conduct as a practical joker.

On 8 November 1869, Albertha Hamilton married George Spencer-Churchill, who was then Marquess of Blandford, in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. This marriage was part of a double wedding event that also included her sister Maud Hamilton's marriage to Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne. The wedding took place despite the disapproval of George’s mother, Frances Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who reportedly viewed Albertha as "stupid, pious and dull." The wedding was attended by notable figures, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, and was attended by Queen Victoria, who sent a valuable Indian shawl as a wedding gift.

Albertha and George Spencer-Churchill had four children:

- Lady Frances Louisa Spencer-Churchill (15 September 1870 – 13 November 1954), who married Sir Robert Gresley, 11th Baronet, on 6 June 1893, and had children.

- Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, who became the 9th Duke of Marlborough (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934); he first married Consuelo Vanderbilt (divorced in 1921), and later Gladys Marie Deacon, and had issue.

- Lady Lillian Maud Spencer-Churchill (9 July 1873 – 4 January 1951), who married Colonel Cecil Grenfell on 6 October 1898 but had no children.

- Lady Norah Beatrice Henriette Spencer-Churchill (1 September 1875 – 28 April 1946), who married Francis Bradley Bradley-Birt on 1 December 1920 and had no children.

Her marriage to George Spencer-Churchill was marked by notable social connections but also by discord. Her husband was a member of the Marlborough House set associated with the Prince of Wales and was involved in a scandal known as the Aylesford Affair; he was cited as a co-respondent in a divorce petition filed by Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford, against Edith Peers-Williams. A son was born illegitimately from his affair with Edith Peers-Williams. Albertha and George Spencer-Churchill lived separately after 1875 and signed a deed of separation in 1878.

The couple divorced on 20 November 1883, shortly after the death of George’s father, when George inherited the dukedom. The grounds for divorce included adultery, cruelty, and desertion by George. After the divorce, she retained the title of Duchess of Marlborough but preferred to be called Albertha, Marchioness of Blandford, the title she used during most of her marriage.

Albertha Spencer-Churchill’s ancestry traces her lineage to notable aristocratic families, including the Hamilton and Russell families. Her death occurred in 1932.