The divorce of Earl Spencer from his third wife has been finalised after two years of legal negotiations. Princess Diana's younger brother Charles had been married to Karen, Countess Spencer for 13 years before they separated.
According to The Times, the divorce was finalised in December, and there are believed to still be financial details to be agreed upon. The former couple, who married in 2011 and lived on the estate of Althorp - where Prince William and Prince Harry’s late mum is buried - announced they had parted ways in 2024.
HELLO! understands Countess Karen will be sticking to convention and keeping her title. This means that if the earl, 61, remarries, his fourth wife would be referred to as 'the Countess Spencer', while the countess, 53, would be described simply as 'Countess Spencer'.
The Times reports that a litigation case brought against Countess Spencer by the earl's girlfriend Cat Jarman has been settled out of court with no admission of liability. The Norwegian archaeologist, 43, sued the countess for 'misuse of private information' and accused her of revealing her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis without her consent.
During the court proceedings, the countess was represented by David Sherborne, whose clients have included Elton John, Harry Styles, Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, as well as the Duke of Sussex and his mother. Meanwhile, the earl hired Fiona Shackleton, who notably represented a then-Prince Charles in his 1996 divorce from his older sister.
Detailing his judgement in the family court, Mr Justice Peel said: "There are, however, a number of aspects of this which are hotly disputed." That includes, according to The Times, the countess' claims that her now-ex-husband had an affair and also ended their marriage by text message.
The earl has denied both claims. Speaking previously to the Daily Mail, he said: "The notion that I would end my marriage by text is an absurd attempt to blacken my name. Karen ended the marriage, after endless threats to do so over the years, in early March. She asked me to confirm the end of the marriage in a text of March 18 and my reply was a simple acceptance of her decision."
The count shares one child, Lady Charlotte, who was born in 2012, with his third wife. The countess posted on Instagram last year confirming that she had moved out of Althorp a year after the separation.
She wrote: "At long last, three weeks ago, we finally moved into our temporary new home. Still waiting for the horses to arrive - hopefully next week! Doesn't quite feel like home without them. This new chapter is already taking shape."
Charles was previously married to Victoria Aitken for eight years, from 1989 to 1997. They spent much of their time in South Africa and share four children together - Lady Kitty, 35, twins Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, 33, and Viscount Louis, 31.
His second wife was Caroline Freud, the ex-wife of businessman Matthew Freud, with whom he was wed to for six years. They had two children together, the Hon. Edmund, 22, and Lady Lara, 19.