A COUSIN of Winston Churchill has died, leaving the son he once described as a "black sheep" to inherit one of Britain's most prestigious aristocratic titles.

The Duke of Marlborough, who owned the opulent Blenheim Palace estate which is worth £100 million, died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 88.

His death prompted tributes, with Prime Minister David Cameron describing him as a "good man and friend" - but it also paves the way for his once-troubled eldest surviving son to inherit his title, and potentially his estate.

Jamie Blandford, 58, currently known as the Marquess of Blandford, will become the 12th Duke of Marlborough, a Blenheim Palace spokesman said. But he declined to comment on whether the marquess will now also inherit the palace and its lucrative estate. The marquess has waged a long and very public battle with heroin and cocaine which saw him splashed across newspaper front pages.

Dubbed by some as "the wayward peer", he spent £20,000 in just four months to pay for his drug binges.

He spent several spells in prison and was in and out of court throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.