The Duke of Marlborough 1926-2014
The Eleventh Duke: Memories. 13 April 1926 – 16 October 2014
“You shouldn’t call him ‘Your Grace,’ you know.”
It was 2005. Lady Soames was coaching me on a letter to her cousin the Duke of Marlborough. It was to ask (again) for the lease (at a friend-of-the-family discount) of the Great Hall at Blenheim Palace. Another black tie dinner crowning another Churchill Tour.
“What should I call him, then? I can’t call him ‘Sunny,’ as you do!” (The family nickname stemmed from one of the Duke’s early titles, Earl of Sunderland.)
“Of course not. But ‘Your Grace’ is too formal, or for servants.…
