Princess Diana's Brother's Divorce Mimicked Her Own In One Major Way

The following article includes allegations of physical and sexual assault.

The British royal family is no stranger to divorce. (Remember the exploits and executions of King Henry VIII in the 16th century, whose desire for a divorce from his first wife led to the creation of the Church of England?) In much more recent history, the most infamous royal divorce was the split of Princess Diana and King Charles III (then Prince Charles). The couple officially divorced in August 1996, four years after they separated, in part due to the late Queen Elizabeth II encouraging it. A little over a year after that, Diana died in a car crash.

Diana is survived by three siblings. Her brother, Earl Charles Spencer, has been married three times and has seven children across the relationships. He announced a divorce from his third wife Karen Gordon in June 2024. The couple married in 2011 and had a daughter the year after. Regarding their divorce, Spencer told the Daily Mail's The Mail on Sunday, "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."

One interesting similarity between Diana and Spencer's divorces is that Fiona Shackleton, or Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, is Spencer's divorce lawyer. She was also Charles' divorce lawyer when he and Diana split in the '90s, and she was Prince Andrew's divorce lawyer when he and Sarah Ferguson split as well.

Fiona Shackleton has been referred to as the "Steel Magnolia" according to The Sunday Times. She didn't hold back in King Charles III and Princess Diana's divorce proceedings. Although Diana got the £17 million she wanted as a settlement and £350,000 annually, her life changed and she lost the ability to be referred to as Her Royal Highness. She could still be referred to as Princess of Wales but would have to curtsy to other royals — such as Charles and her sons, William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry. The title loss also meant that Diana no longer had royal security. Regarding the title loss, a young William reportedly said, "Don't worry Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am King" (via Mirror).

Author Ingrid Seward told the Daily Mail, "The terms of the divorce were severe. If Diana wanted to leave the country on anything that could be described as official business, she had to get special permission. Her movements were restricted and she wasn't allowed to take an ordinary job to earn money."

Then-Prince Charles used Shackleton as a lawyer until 2005. The Daily Mail reported that Earl Charles Spencer would be paying £550 an hour (about $700 an hour in U.S. dollars) for Shackleton's services, evidently wanting the best divorce lawyer around. However, it seems like Spencer's divorce from Karen Gordon is less contentious than Diana's.

Earl Charles Spencer's divorce from Karen Gordon is believed to partially be due to him writing his memoir "A Very Private School," which recounts allegedly being abused physically and sexually at boarding school. In a March 2024 BBC interview, Spencer said, "And then actually at the end of last year when I'd finished the book, I had a bit of a breakdown again and I had to go into a residential treatment for trauma for writing this book" (via Daily Mail). According to Daily Mail's The Mail on Sunday, that was motivated by the tragic details from Spencer's life being brought back to the forefront of his mind when he rediscovered a diary from his school years.

However, Spencer has said Gordon was a rock for him. In a People interview, Spencer said, "Karen has been supportive. I think it was very challenging for her to have a husband going through what was essentially four and a half years of the most profound therapy with very difficult undertones to it. And she supported the idea of me doing it." He's stronger on the other side of the writing process and added, "So I'm grateful to have her standing by me while I went through this, what I now realize was an essential process."

Despite Gordon's support, something still caused their relationship to fracture. With Fiona Shackleton on his side, Spencer will likely walk away from the divorce pleased with the settlement.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.