Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, is the younger brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He is also the maternal uncle of Prince William and Prince Harry.
The British author and journalist was born on May 20, 1964, to John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and Frances Shand Kydd.
The 59-year-old has a large family… he has been married three times and has welcomed seven children.
WATCH: Charles Spencer’s powerful eulogy.
How many times has Charles Spencer been married?
Charles Spencer has been married three times and engaged four times. The Earl and his first wife, Victoria Aitken, were married from 1989 to 1997. He later married Caroline Freud in 2001 and the two remained a couple until 2007.
He then married his current wife, Karen Spencer, in 2011. The two met just weeks after Charles ended his brief engagement with Lady Bianca Eliot.
Victoria Aitken
Earl Spencer married his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, in September 1989. The Earl and the British model got engaged very quickly after he proposed just six weeks after meeting her.
Their wedding was held at St Mary’s Church, Great Brighton, and Prince Harry was a pageboy in the ceremony! Throughout their marriage, the British model was known as Viscountess Spencer.
The two welcomed four children before divorcing in 1997. The two had recently moved to South Africa with the kids at the time, however, following their split, the kids remained living in Cape Town with their mother.
Victoria later remarried a businessman, Jonathan Aitken, and the two welcomed a son, Samuel, in 2005.
Following the fallout of their marriage in 2009, Victoria reportedly began dating former British solider, James Clinch.
Caroline Freud
Charles later married former schoolteacher Caroline Freud (previously Hutton) in 2001 at his Althorp home.
Caroline had previously been married to Matthew Freud, a great-grandson of legendary thinker Sigmund Freud, but had met Charles while they were both students at Oxford; the two were close friends over the years.
The former schoolteacher and the PR executive had two children, George Rupert Freud and Jonah Henry Freud, before they divorced in 1997.
She later welcomed another two children with Charles before they divorced in 2007.
Karen Spencer, Countess of Spencer
Charles married his current wife Karen Spencer (previously Villeneuve), Countess of Spencer, in June 2011, less than a year after they first met.
The Canadian-born former model is now the founder and CEO of Whole Child International, a nonprofit, non-government organisation helping children in orphanages across the world.
Before the Earl, Karen was married to Hollywood producer Mark Gordon from 1997 to 2003 in which she had two daughters, Emma and Kate.
Charles and Karen later welcomed a child of their own in 2012.
How many children does Charles Spencer have?
Charles Spencer has seven children of his own.
His first four children, Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer, twins Lady Eliza Victoria and Lady Amelia Spencer, and Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, he had with his first wife, Victoria.
He later welcomed another two children with his second wife Caroline: Edmund Spencer and Lady Lara Caroline Spencer.
Finally, he welcomed his youngest child, Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer, with his current wife, Karen.
The Countess of Spencer also has two children from her previous marriage, making Charles a stepfather to Emma and Kate Gordon.
Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer
Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer, 33, was born on December 28, 1990, to Charles and Victoria. Kitty attended the University of Cape Town and studied psychology, politics, and English literature before later receiving her master’s in luxury brand management from Regent’s University London.
Kitty, much like her mum, is a fashion model. She has worked her way up and is now working with huge names in fashion such as Dolce & Gabbana. She is represented by Storm Management, the same company that works with models such as Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss.
She married Michael Lewis, 63, a businessman in the fashion industry, on July 24, 2021, becoming a stepmum to his three children.
However, Kitty and Michael recently welcomed a child of their own. Kitty posted to Instagram on March 10, 2024, revealing the birth of her child, after having kept the pregnancy a secret for nine months.
Lady Eliza Victoria
Lady Eliza Victoria, 31, was born on July 10, 1992, to Charles and Victoria. Eliza is also a model and is signed to Storm Model Management, just like her older sister!
Eliza lives with her boyfriend, Channing Millerd, a 29-year-old tech executive, in Claremont, a suburb in Cape Town.
Eliza is an identical twin to Lady Amelia Spencer, however, Eliza is older by one-minute!
Lady Amelia Spencer
Lady Amelia Spencer, 31, was born on July 10, 1992, to Charles and Victoria. Amelia is also a model and is signed to the same company as both her sisters.
The twins are very close and are very similar in many ways. “We love doing the same things and share the same friends,” Eliza previously told Tatler.
“You’re guaranteed to have a best friend there always – you can’t really compare it to anything else.”
Amelia married her long-term boyfriend, Greg Mallet, on March 21, 2023, on a mountaintop in South Africa’s Western Cape.
The model met the fitness and nutrition coach when she was just 17, while they were both studying at the University of Cape Town.
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, was born on March 14, 1994, and is the last child Charles and Victoria had together.
The 30-year-old actor studied acting at ArtsEd drama school in Chiswick and has been dubbed as one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors.
The aristocrat is set to one day inherit Charles’ title and the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire.
Edmund Spencer
Edmund Spencer was born on October 6, 2003, and is the first child Charles had with his second wife, Caroline.
The 20-year-old goes by the name Ned and is currently studying at university. He mostly keeps away from the spotlight.
Lady Lara Caroline Spencer
Lady Lara Caroline Spencer was born on March 16, 2006, to Charles and Caroline. Lara also lives her life out of the public eye, and not much is known about her.
The 18-year-old recently supported Charles at one of his book launches.
Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer
Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer was born on July 30, 2012, and is Charles’ youngest child and only child with current wife, Karen.
The 11-year-old was named in honour of her aunt, Princess Diana. The family currently resides in Northamptonshire on the Althorp Estate.
Though they like to keep Charlotte out of the public eye, Charles has recently spoken about how his youngest daughter makes him proud. The Earl appeared on BBC Radio 4’s radio show and podcast Broadcasting House and got into the conversation of children dressing up for World Book Week.
“I was very proud of my daughter going last year as the Moon Child in The Never-Ending Story, I thought that was pretty good,” he said.
“This year, she’ll be going with her best friend as Tweedledee and Tweedledum”.
