Caught out, the society wedding guests who ‘had sex’ on Blenheim’s cricket pitch
IT was one of the society weddings of the year as the Marquess of Blandford married his sweetheart Camilla Thorp.
But while George Spencer-Churchill, 26, the future 13th Duke of Marlborough, and his new wife, 31, maintained their elegance and sophistication, some of the 300 guests at Blenheim Palace clearly had other ideas.
For, it seems, two of the couple’s friends slipped away from the reception – and had sex on a nearby cricket pitch.
The new Marchioness of Blandford appeared to reveal the unseemly al fresco goings- on in an interview with society bible Tatler.
Speaking about her marriage to the marquess – a distant relative of Sir Winston Churchill – she described how the lavish event in September, with a black tie party in a giant marquee at the stately home in Oxfordshire, went on until 3.30am.
She confessed: ‘One couple “enjoyed” the cricket pitch, which was played on the next day by the unsuspecting local team.’
Another friend is said to have taken his clothes off on the stage, while the marquess and his bride crowd-surfed. The identity of the amorous couple has not been revealed.
Guests at the event included the cream of British aristocracy. After the marriage ceremony at St Mary Magdalene Church in nearby Woodstock, the happy couple rode back to the palace in a Rolls-Royce once owned by Sir Winston.
Miss Thorp’s wedding dress was from the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda couture collection, featuring a lace bodice with organza and lace skirt and train, while the tiara she wore was a family heirloom.
‘The shape of the wedding dress made me nervous as I didn’t want to look too over the top, but the scale worked with Blenheim in the background,’ she said.
The reception included a three- course dinner in the Great Hall, a fireworks display and helicopter rides, plus a ‘full-on dance party’ in the marquee.
Speeches included one by the marquess’s father Jamie, the 12th Duke of Marlborough, who has overcome drug addiction and endured three spells in prison. The marchioness recalled: ‘He [the Duke] announced that perhaps he hadn’t been the best father, but was making up for it in recent years – and he said how proud he was of both of us.’
The marquess, an aviation broker who will one day inherit Blenheim and his father’s £183 million fortune, proposed to Miss Thorp during a stay at Soho House in Istanbul, ten years after they first struck up a romance on the Isle of Wight. Recalling how they got together, the marchioness added: ‘One day he just started holding my hand.
‘Our parents have been friends for years, which made life much easier. We didn’t have to do the whole “meet the parents” thing.’
See the full feature in the January issue of Tatler, available now to download or from newsstands.