THE Duke of Marlborough has called police to Blenheim Palace to investigate claims that millions have gone missing in thefts by staff in the past. The 11th duke — whose eldest son and heir Jamie, the Marquess of Blandford, has himself been convicted of theft — is said to be infuriated with the alleged pilfering at the palace.

It is believed that the investigation is focusing on a small number of staff who have worked at Britain’s best-known stately home over the past 20 years.

The duke’s suspicions were aroused in April last year after Dominic Hare, his new finance director, uncovered what were said to be serious anomalies in the accounts.

The palace at Woodstock, near Oxford, is believed to be Britain’s largest domestic building. It employs full-time staff and dozens of temporary employees at the height of the tourist season, when up to 40,000 people visit it on any day.

The police inquiry follows undercover work by a firm of private detectives based in Oxford, who were retained at the beginning of October to conduct a confidential inquiry on the duke’s behalf. They are understood to have interviewed past staff about the alleged scams.

The security firm claims one former member of staff collected as much as £100,000 from scams, which he is said to keep in his attic.

One alleged scam involved employees visiting stately homes around England, including Warwick Castle, to collect “two for one” vouchers giving special offers to visitors to Blenheim Palace.

It is believed the vouchers were then put into the tills at Blenheim and cash equivalent to the price of one ticket removed. The voucher was used to account for the missing cash.

One source said about the investigation: “The duke was really p***ed off about it. It would seem he has been systematically defrauded over a period of time that goes back to the 1980s.”

Calls to Marlborough’s private office were last week referred to Hare. He said he could not discuss the investigation: “The estate is owned by the duke and the money goes through his private accounts. I have no comment on his private business.”

However, one member of staff said: “With any estate like this that handles the level of cash that we handle, there will always be security issues about the cash.”

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