Karen Gordon is the third wife of Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, the Earl of Spencer.
Charles Spencer, the younger brother of the late Princess Diana, is divorcing his third wife, Karen Gordon.
The 60-year-old Earl of Spencer shared the news with the Mail on Sunday, saying, "It is immensely sad. I just want to devote myself to all my children, and to my grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future."
The couple tied the knot in June 2011 after initially meeting on a blind date. Gordon is a Canadian philanthropist who founded the Whole Child International charity.
The former couple share daughter Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer, 11, who was named after her late aunt, Princess Diana.
Before Karen, Charles was married to Caroline Freud from 2001 to 2007 and Victoria Aitken from 1989 to 1997. He is the father of seven children, including Lady Kitty Spencer, 33, Lady Amelia Spencer, 31, Lady Eliza Spencer, 31, and Louis Spencer, 30, whom he shares with Aitken, and Edmund Spencer, 20, Lady Lara Spencer, 18, whom he shares with Freud.
According to the Daily Mail, Charles and Karen announced their split to their staff at Althorp in March. The Earl of Spencer said that work on his memoir, A Very Private School, "deeply affected" him over the past five years. He shared that he has undergone treatment for trauma in the wake of the discovery of his childhood diary in which he alleges he was sexually abused by an employee at the school he attended.
During his March appearance on the Therapy Works podcast, Charles spoke out about the impact his troubled childhood had on his romantic life.
"I was definitely looking for the wrong things. I was very promiscuous and very unhappy in my love life," he said. "I didn't feel I deserved love. I had a great love in my early '20s and I ran from her because it was just too threatening and I just destroyed it. And that's the biggest regret of my life. I talked to her more recently about that and apologized and she understands."
He added of his early attractions, "I think I went for good looking people who weren't really into love."
In May, Charles stepped out to support his nephew, Prince Harry, who visited the United Kingdom for the Invictus Games. Charles attended the event at St. Paul's Cathedral with his children, Lara Spencer and Louis Spencer. Harry's estranged brother, Prince William, and father, King Charles III, did not attend the event or see Harry during his U.K. visit.
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