Charles Edward Maurice Spencer was born in London on 20 May 1964. Queen Elizabeth II is his godmother. His parents were titled Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, as his paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, was still alive at the time of his birth. Spencer grew up with three older sisters, Sarah, Jane, and Diana. Charles' infant brother, John, was born four years before him, but died within hours of his birth. Charles and Diana were very close to each other in their childhood. His parents' troubled marriage ended in divorce when he was four years old. Spencer inherited the title Viscount Althorp when his father became Earl Spencer in 1975. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read Modern History.
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 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 elder 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 has ruled out the conspiracy theories regarding 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." He was a Member of the House of Lords from 29 March 1992 until the House of Lords Act 1999 excluded most hereditary peers on 11 November 1999. It was reported by The Daily Telegraph in 2003 that Spencer had refused to allow his sister Diana to live in a cottage on the Althorp estate, despite her request at the height of her emotional difficulties. It was also reported that Spencer had accused Diana of displaying "deceitful" and "manipulative" behaviour which were characteristics of the mental illness associated with bulimia nervosa which Diana herself had admitted she suffered. Diana was eventually buried on Spencer's ancestral estate, Althorp, where he built a garden temple memorial and a museum to her memory, displaying her wedding dress and other personal effects. The museum was opened to the public in 1998 with all profits going to Diana's Memorial Fund, also set up by Spencer. At this stage, Spencer began writing a series of books dealing with the estate itself and with his family history, beginning with an account of his ancestral home, Althorp: the Story of an English House published in 1998. In 2003, Spencer founded the Althorp Literary Festival. Speakers at the annual event have included the authors Bill Bryson, Helen Fielding, Antonia Fraser, and Boris Johnson. In 2004, he presented two documentaries for the History Channel on Blenheim: Battle for Europe. Spencer was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire in November 2005; the Spencer family have had a long association with the county, the home of the family seat. Spencer is also a patron of the Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
Personal life
The Earl Spencer has seven children from three marriages. On 16 September 1989, Spencer, then known by the courtesy title of Viscount Althorp, married Victoria Lockwood. The wedding was held at the Church of St Mary, Great Brington, and Darius Guppy was the best man. Two nieces, Emily McCorquodale and The Hon. Eleanor Fellowes, were bridesmaids. Two nephews, Prince Harry and The Hon. Alexander Fellowes, were page boys. Spencer and Lockwood, who had moved to Cape Town, South Africa, were divorced on 3 December 1997. Diana's death occurred while the divorce case was in progress; shortly after his divorce, Spencer moved back to the United Kingdom. The Earl has four children by Victoria Lockwood, three daughters and one son:
On 15 December 2001, he married Caroline Freud, former wife of Matthew Freud. They separated in 2007 and later divorced. They have two children:
The Hon. Edmund Spencer
Lady Lara Spencer
On 18 June 2011 at Althorp, Spencer married Karen Gordon, a Canadian philanthropist, the founder and chief executive of Whole Child International, a charity based in Los Angeles that works to improve the lot of orphaned, abandoned, or abused children. They have one child together:
Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer
Spencer chose his fifth daughter's middle name in honour of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. Spencer was reported to have said, "We hadn't settled on a first name before the birth, but Charlotte is a name we both love, and it really suits her. We knew that as soon as we saw her. And though it's been 15 years since Diana died, I still miss her every day and I wanted her commemorated in the naming of our daughter." The Earl resides at Althorp House.
Books
Althorp: the Story of an English House London: Viking.
The Spencers: a Personal History of an English Family.
Blenheim, Battle for Europe. Paperback edition by Phoenix, 2005.. This book was a Sunday Times best-seller, and was shortlisted for "History Book of the Year" at the 2005 National Book Awards.
