Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer has announced he is getting a divorce, after 13 years of marriage.

Earl Spencer revealed the “immensely sad” news he had separated from Karen Gordon, the Countess of Spencer, who he shares a 12-year-old daughter with.

They were married in June 2011 in the grounds of Althorp, which is where his sister Diana is buried, after meeting on a blind date.

Just four months after their first meeting, Charles popped the question, and a year after their marriage, they welcomed the birth of their daughter named Charlotte Diana, in tribute to the Earl’s late sister.

Charles, 60, revealed the heartbreaking reason behind their divorce, saying it is “immensely sad

He told the Mail on Sunday: “I just want to devote myself to all my children, and to my grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future.”

The divorce news comes after the 60-year-old previously spoke out about the sickening physical and sexual abuse he suffered at boarding school in his memoir.

Karen was notably absent at recent events held in Spencer House and Althrop, including the launch of the Earl’s book – A Very Private School.

Canadian Karen, 52, is founder and chief executive of Whole Child International, an LA-based charity that works to improve the lives of orphaned, abandoned and abused children.

She has two daughters from a previous marriage to Hollywood producer Mark Gordon known for his work on Saving Private Ryan and The Day After Tomorrow, while Charles has seven children in total.

He has four children from his marriage to first wife Victoria Lockwood, whose marriage ended in December 1997, the same year Diana died.

They are Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer, Lady Eliza Victoria Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer and Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp.

The Earl didn’t attend Kitty and Amelia’s weddings in 2021 and 2023 amid claims his relationship with his elder children had “cooled”.

Spencer also had two children with second wife Caroline Freud, who are The Honourable Edmund Spencer and Lady Lara Caroline Spencer.

Charles told The Sunday Times in 2020: “Karen and I both appreciate what the other does and look after what we have. Neither of us has found happiness like this before.”

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