Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer has tied the knot once again, five months after his divorce.
The 9th Earl Spencer, 61, wed archaeologist and podcast co-host Professor Cat Jarman, 43, in a private ceremony in Arizona on Friday, May 15. The late Princess of Wales‘ brother — the uncle of British royals Prince William and Prince Harry — has been married three times previously, having just finalized his divorce from his third wife, Karen Spencer.
Spencer and Jarman’s intimate desert ceremony appeared to take place near Sedona’s iconic Cathedral Rock. The bride glowed in the Arizona sun, wearing a pale blue sleeveless gown with cutout details at the waist, while Spencer chose a dark suit paired with an open-collar light blue shirt. This comes after Spencer defended his and Jarman’s 18-year age gap.
“We both feel so incredibly lucky to have progressed from being colleagues, to friendship, to deep love and connection,” they said in a joint statement shared with People. “Each stage of our relationship has been underpinned by laughter and we share a passion for life.”
On Instagram, Spencer shared the romantic wedding snaps and wrote, “15 May 2026 – the happiest day ever. A very close friend said to me, months ago: ‘The thing about Cat is, she’d want to be with you if you lived in a hut.’ Little did I know she’d also be happy to marry me in a desert.”
The couple first met after Charles — the author of nine books — was asked to review Jarman’s 2021 nonfiction bestseller, River Kings, which focused on her specialist subject, the Vikings.
Spencer and Jarman later began collaborating on archaeological digs and co-hosting the history podcast The Rabbit Hole Detectives alongside Rev. Richard Coles.
In June 2024, Spencer and Countess Karen Spencer, a Canadian philanthropist whom he wed at Althorp House in 2011, announced their divorce after 13 years of marriage. The former couple shares a daughter, 13-year-old Charlotte Diana.
Months later, Spencer and Jarman went public with their romance. Spencer publicly confirmed it in October 2024, telling The Times, “We are close.” The Earl’s divorce was then finalized in December 2025.
However, Spencer and Karen’s split had turned tense after Jarman filed a lawsuit against Karen, alleging misuse of private information for disclosing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. The lawsuit was settled in late 2025.
Jarman told The Daily Mail that she was diagnosed with MS in 2016 while finishing her PhD and chose to keep her condition private.
She alleged Karen learned of the diagnosis through a mutual acquaintance and later revealed it to Spencer and the staff at Althorp House. However, Karen denied liability.
At the time, The Times reported that Karen argued that any reference to Jarman’s condition had been “entirely legitimate and justified.”
She also claimed that she learned of Jarman’s diagnosis while investigating rumors that Spencer and Jarman were having an affair during her marriage to the Earl.
In 2024 court filings, the former Countess accused her ex-husband of a “long-term” affair with Jarman, which the pair “categorically” denied.
Over the years, the couple’s working relationship evolved into a romantic one, as they worked on their podcast and began appearing together publicly on historical projects and archaeological digs.
Touching upon his connection with Jarman, Spencer said, “I’m too old for hearts and flowers stuff, but the best way to describe it is that with Cat, I can be myself.”
He added, “She knows who I am. Who I really am. I don’t have to pretend to be something I am not. And she brings out the best in me.”
Despite their age difference, Spencer has said he and Jarman connect deeply on many levels. He shared with the media, “I’ve never tried to do a hard sell on Cat. She’s very canny, very emotionally mature.”
He added, “With her, I don’t pretend to be anything I am not. She knows exactly who I am and who I am not.
“It really is nice to be with someone who wants to do stuff. Take today. We could have come to this festival and just stayed in the hotel, but we were up this morning going to see a lagoon. It really is nice to find someone who is dynamic and interested.”
This is Spencer’s fourth marriage. The younger brother of the late Princess Diana was previously married to Victoria Lockwood from 1989 to 1997, Caroline Freud from 2001 to 2007, and Karen from 2011 until 2025.
Spencer is also the father of six other children from his previous marriages. Jarman was previously married and is a mother of two sons with her ex-husband, Tom Jarman.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
