Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (born 20 May 1964), styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the maternal uncle of William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
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Early life and education
Charles Edward Maurice Spencer was born on 20 May 1964 in Marylebone, London, the youngest of five children of John Spencer (1924–1992) and Frances Roche (1936–2004; later Shand Kydd). Because of his maternal family's close personal connection to the royal family, he was baptised at Westminster Abbey, with Queen Elizabeth II serving as one of his godmothers. He grew up with three elder sisters, Sarah, Jane, and Diana, the latter of whom he was very close with. An elder brother, John, had been born four years before him, but died 10 hours after birth, leaving Charles as the eventual heir to the earldom.
Spencer was three years old when his parents' troubled marriage ended in divorce following his mother's affair with Peter Shand Kydd. In 1975, Spencer became styled Viscount Althorp when his father succeeded as Earl Spencer on the death of his paternal grandfather. He began his formal education at Silfield Private School in King's Lynn, Norfolk, and from the age of eight attended the boy's private boarding school Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire. He was later educated at Eton College, and read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford.
In his memoir A Very Private School, published in March 2024 at the age of 59, Spencer described the violent beatings, sexual abuse, "culture of cruelty", "hopelessness and abandonment", and the absence of affection he experienced at Maidwell Hall, one of England's most prestigious boarding schools.
Career
Spencer worked as an on-air correspondent with NBC News from 1986 to 1995, primarily for the network's morning programme, Today and NBC Nightly News. He wrote and presented the 12-part documentary series Great Houses of the World (1994–1995) for NBC Super Channel. He also worked as a reporter for Granada Television from 1991 to 1993.
Spencer has written several book reviews for The Guardian and The Independent on Sunday, as well as feature stories for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and American publications such as Vanity Fair, Verandah, and Nest.
Upon his father's death on 29 March 1992, 27-year-old Spencer succeeded as 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Viscount Althorp, 9th Viscount Spencer of Althorp, 9th Baron Spencer of Althorp, and 4th Viscount Althorp. He also inherited Althorp, the family's ancestral seat in Northamptonshire. Since 2009, he has restored Althorp, re-roofing it and restoring its entire exterior for the first time since the 1780s. He has also helped establish Althorp Living History, a handmade fine-furniture line reproducing pieces from the collection at Althorp. The Spencer family's wealth derived from their profitable sheep farming in the Tudor era.
On 31 August 1997, his older sister Diana died after a car crash in Paris, and Spencer delivered the eulogy at her funeral service held at Westminster Abbey six days later. In his eulogy he rebuked both Britain's royal family and the press for their treatment of his sister. Spencer ruled out conspiracy theories concerning his sister's death, and called the alleged letter she wrote 10 months before her death, in which she discussed her fears of a planned accident, "just a bizarre coincidence rather than tied in with reality." Spencer received an apology from Tim Davie, the BBC's director general, in late 2020 for the unethical practices used by BBC staff to gain his sister's consent to "An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales" in November 1995 for the corporation's Panorama television programme. Former BBC chairman Michael Grade said a full inquiry should be conducted, which Davie has said will happen.
Spencer was a member of the House of Lords from 29 March 1992, the day his father died and he inherited the peerage, until the House of Lords Act 1999 excluded most hereditary peers on 11 November 1999.
Personal life
Spencer has seven children from three marriages, and is married a fourth time.
On 16 September 1989, Spencer, then known by the courtesy title of Viscount Althorp, married Victoria Lockwood (born 20 April 1965). Spencer and Lockwood were divorced on 3 December 1997, with Diana's death occurring while the case was in progress. After the divorce, Spencer returned to the United Kingdom from Cape Town, South Africa, where he and Lockwood had relocated their family in 1995 to avoid media attention. It was alleged that Spencer had an extra-marital affair with a journalist early in the marriage. They have four children:
Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer (born 28 December 1990); married Michael Lewis in 2021, and they have a daughter born in 2024.
Lady Eliza Victoria Spencer (born 10 July 1992); engaged to Channing Millerd, a South African businessman, in 2025.
Lady Katya "Amelia" Spencer (born 10 July 1992); married Greg Mallett, nephew of former South African national rugby coach Nick Mallett, in 2023.
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994); heir apparent to the earldom.
Spencer did not attend the weddings of his daughters Kitty and Amelia in 2021 and 2023, respectively, amid reports that his relationship with his elder children had "cooled".
On 15 December 2001, Spencer married Caroline Freud (née Hutton; born 16 October 1966), former wife of businessman Matthew Freud. They separated in 2007 and later divorced. Mr Justice Munby was the presiding judge. Spencer's barrister Nicholas Mostyn advised his client that the case could be heard in private, which Munby rejected. Spencer was upset at the final settlement and unsuccessfully sued Mostyn. They have two children:
The Hon. Edmund "Ned" Spencer (born 6 October 2003); DJ
Books
Althorp: The Story of an English House (1998). London: Viking ISBN 978-0-312-20833-2.
The Spencer Family (1999). London: Viking. US edition: The Spencers: a Personal History of an English Family (2000) ISBN 978-0-670-88323-3 & ISBN 978-0-312-26649-3.
Blenheim: Battle for Europe (2004). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; paperback edition by Phoenix, 2005. ISBN 0-304-36704-4. This book was a Sunday Times best-seller, and was shortlisted for "History Book of the Year" at the 2005 National Book Awards.
Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier (2007). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN 978-0-297-84610-9.
Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I (2014). London: Bloomsbury ISBN 978-1-408-85170-8. This book was a Sunday Times best-seller.
Impressions of Althorp: Thoughts on My Spencer Heritage (2015). Spencer 1508 Ltd ISBN 978-0-957-27150-0.
To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape (2017). London: William Collins ISBN 978-0-008-15366-3
The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream (2020). London: William Collins ISBN 978-0-008-29682-7
A Very Private School: A Memoir (2024). London: William Collins ISBN 978-0-008-66608-8
The Rabbit Hole Book (2024). With: Richard Coles & Cat Jarman. London: Michael Joseph ISBN 978-0-241-68486-3
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister (2026). Michael Joseph ISBN 978-0-241-82559-4
