From his birth until 1857 he was styled Earl of Sunderland; and from 1857 until 1883, Marquess of Blandford. He was educated at Eton 1857-1860, and was an officer in the Horse Guards 1863-1869. As a conservative he took a seat in Parliament on 20 April 1884. On 8 November 1869 at Westminster Abbey he married Lady Albertha Hamilton, daughter of the 1st Duke of Abercorn. Four children were born between 1870 and 1875. However, this marriage was unsuccessful as
he disliked his wife's crude practical jokes; for instance, she would place pieces of soap amongst the cheese and then watch her guests eat them. In 1876 he took Lady Aylesford for his mistress. While Lord Aylesford was in India with the Prince of Wales he was informed of this liaison and rushed back to England.
The Prince of Wales thought both couples should divorce and that the Marquess of Blandford marry Lady Aylesford. Lord Randolph Curchill, Blandford's brother, then tried to blackmail the Prince of Wales which resulted in his being blacklisted by the Prince. Lord Aylesford did divorce his wife but she remained Blandford's mistress for only a short while longer. When their baby was born in 1881, Albertha, Blandford's wife, placed a pink baby doll under the salver for Blandford's breakfast. Blandford moved out and was divorced by Albertha. Shortly before their divorced was finalised in 1883, his father died and he was then the 8th Duke of Marlborough.
On 29 June 1888 in New York's City Hall he married the rich and widowed Mrs. Lilian Hammersly, who preferred to be known as Lily because of Lilian rhyming with million. She was jolly and gushing but regarded as vulgar. However, he died unexpectedly in his sleep only four years later, aged 48, and for a while his wife was prostrated by the calamity.
The scandals in his life had prevented his achieving anything in politics. He had become notorious for the things he sold: eighteen Rubens paintings, three of which went to the Rothschilds. Most of the fine china was also sold as was van Dyck's equestrian portrait of Charles I. Paintings by Raphael, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Claude, Watteau and Reynolds were all sold. Only family portraits were kept. This raised 400,000 pounds stirling which was mainly spent on modernizing his farms and installing electricity in Blenheim. However, it was his American wife who introduced central heating.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas