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Charles Spencer, the ninth Earl Spencer and younger brother of the late Princess Diana, married Norwegian archaeologist Dr. Cat Jarman in a private ceremony in Arizona last Friday. It is his fourth marriage. Photos from the occasion appear to show Sedona’s iconic sandstone butte Cathedral Rock as a backdrop. Carrying a bouquet of white roses, Jarman wore a pale blue, Grecian-style sleeveless gown with cutout detailing at the waist, while Spencer wore a dark suit with an open-collar light blue shirt for the relaxed ceremony.
“We both feel so incredibly lucky to have progressed from being colleagues, to friendship, to deep love and connection,” the couple said in a joint statement to the media. “Each stage of our relationship has been underpinned by laughter and we share a passion for life.”
The pair met in 2022 when Spencer was asked to review Jarman’s 2021 book, River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads. Their working relationship deepened into a personal one, and they began collaborating on archaeological digs and co-hosting a historical podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detective, alongside English writer and radio presenter Richard Coles. The couple, seen in the photo above together in London last November, confirmed their romance in October 2024 and celebrated the podcast’s 100th episode last year.
This is Jarman’s second marriage; she was previously married to Tom Jarman and has two sons. Spencer, 61, was first married to Victoria Aitken from 1989 to 1997. They have four children together: Lady Kitty, twins Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, and Viscount Louis. His second wife was Caroline Freud, with whom he had two children, Edmund and Lady Lara. Their marriage lasted from 2001 through 2007. His third marriage, to Canadian philanthropist Karen Gordon in 2011, ended in divorce finalized in December 2025. The couple share a daughter, Charlotte Diana, 13.
The nuptials follow a period of legal proceedings between Jarman and Karen, which were settled in late 2025, relating to allegations about the breakdown of the marriage between Charles and Karen and the disclosure of Jarman’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.