Earl Spencer, the younger brother of the late Princess Diana, has married for a fourth time in a secret ceremony in the United States. The 61-year-old earl, who is also an uncle to Princes William and Harry, quietly tied the knot with archaeologist Professor Cat Jarman in Arizona last week.
How They Met
The pair first connected when Spencer was asked to review Norwegian Cat’s 2021 non-fiction bestseller River Kings. Professor Jarman, who co-hosted the Rabbit Hole Detectives podcast with the Earl, then grew close to him after a dig at his sprawling ancestral home of Althorp. She was searching his vast Althorp estate in Northamptonshire — Diana’s final resting place — for a lost medieval village, and they started dating two years ago.
The Wedding
In a statement, the newlyweds said: “We both feel so incredibly lucky to have progressed from being colleagues, to friendship, to deep love and connection. Each stage of our relationship has been underpinned by laughter, and we share a passion for life.” The pair also released a string of photos from the big day showing them after the ceremony next to Sedona’s Cathedral Rock. The bride wore a pale blue sleeveless gown with a cut-out waist.
Professor Jarman’s New Title
Professor Jarman, 44, can now be styled Countess Spencer. Earl Spencer has been married three times in the past and has seven children. In 1989, he married first wife Victoria Lockwood, with whom he has four children — Lady Kitty Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer, Lady Eliza Spencer and Louis, Viscount Althorp. The couple divorced in 1997, shortly after the death of Diana. In 2021, he wed Caroline Hutton, and they had two children together — Edmund and Lara. He married third wife Karen in 2011 and they have a daughter — Charlotte Diana — and split in 2024. Dr Jarman was also previously married and has two sons.
Legal Settlement
News of the marriage comes just weeks after Professor Jarman said she was “delighted to be able to move on with my life” after settling a High Court claim against Earl Spencer’s ex-wife, Karen. Dr Jarman sued her in 2024 over allegations that she misused the archaeologist’s private information by disclosing details of her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) to others. In a unilateral statement read out in open court last month, lawyers for Professor Jarman said that Countess Spencer had agreed to settle the claim in August last year, but without any admission of liability or wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed at the hearing, at which Countess Spencer did not appear and was not represented. Speaking following the short hearing, which came during MS Awareness Week, Ms Jarman said: “I’m delighted to be able to move on with my life now.” Solicitor Dina Shiloh, for Ms Jarman, told the court that her client had previously only shared her diagnosis with “a very small and trusted circle of people.” Speaking at the time, Earl Spencer said: “Cat has handled every aspect of this with grace, integrity and quiet courage. She sought only what was her right: the same right to privacy that every person deserves. Multiple sclerosis is a serious condition; its course is uncertain, and its demands are significant. Those who live with the condition deserve complete control over when, how and to whom they choose to disclose it.”
