The late Princess Diana's younger brother Charles Spencer is divorcing his wife Karen Gordon after 13 years of marriage.
The 9th Earl Spencer announced the division from Countess Spencer to Countess. mailbox on sunday June 8th. According to the outlet, their relationship became strained after he wrote a memoir in which he revealed that he had been physically and sexually abused while attending an elite boarding school.
“It’s really sad,” Spencer said. mailbox on sunday. “I just want to be devoted to all my children and grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future.”
According to reports, the couple announced their divorce to staff at Alsop House, the Spencer family's private residence in Northamptonshire, England, and the childhood home of Princess Diana, in March.
Spencer married Canadian philanthropist Gordon in June 2011 after meeting him on a blind date at a restaurant in Los Angeles last year. They were married at Althorp House, where Princess Diana is buried.
Gordon is the founder of Whole Child International, a US-based non-governmental organization working to improve the quality of care for vulnerable children. She was previously married to Hollywood producer Mark Gordon, whose film and television credits include: Saving Private Ryan, Speed, Grey's Anatomy, and Criminal Minds – From 1997 to 2003. Gorden has two daughters with his first husband, and a 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte Diana, with Spencer.
Meanwhile, Spencer had four children with his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, and two children with his second wife, Caroline Freud.
that much mailbox on sunday It was reported that the 60-year-old royal had “recently become close” to Norwegian archaeologist Cat Jarman. Along with Reverend Richard Coles, Jarman and Spencer co-host a history podcast. Rabbit Hole Detectives. Friends told the outlet that the pair “look very happy” but that “it's still early days.”
In a memoir published last March very private school, Spencer opened up about the physical and sexual abuse she suffered in the 1970s. As a boy at Maidwell Hall, one of the UK's leading private schools for children aged four to 13, Spencer claims he was abused by his female assistant mother, an experience he described as “incredibly traumatic”. He recalled that it was.
Spencer, who entered school at the age of eight, said she was beaten to the point of bleeding and witnessed punishments such as having her buttocks cut. [of young children] “I do this several times with a cane.”
Other former students he interviewed said they had suffered multiple sexual assaults at school, and some had lost siblings due to 'self-neglect'. One terminally ill man said he could not forgive himself for his experience, so he stipulated in his will that he would refuse to see his parents.
“It killed a part of me. It killed the gentlest part of me. In order for us to survive in such an environment, a small but important part of us had to die. I think that’s the essence of it,” Spencer said. times In March. “Things like emotion and empathy inevitably suffer. Because otherwise it would be too primitive. You can choose to make the most of it, which I think is great if you can, but the damage is still internal.”
Madewell Hall School said Independent From a statement: “It was sobering to read about Charles Spencer and his fellow alumni about their experiences at the school. I'm sorry that was their experience. Sadly, it is difficult to read about practices that were sometimes considered normal and acceptable at the time. Within education today, almost all aspects of school life have evolved significantly since the 1970s. At the heart of the change is the protection and promotion of children's well-being.
“We were dismayed to read about the alleged abuse Charles Spencer suffered at the hands of his parents in the 1970s. Although we have not received any claims directly from former students, taking into account what has been reported, the school has followed statutory procedures and made a referral to the Local Authority Appointed Officer (LADO). I encourage anyone who has had a similar experience to come forward and contact Maidwell Hall, LADO or the police.”
Elsewhere in the memoir, Spencer reflects on her previous divorce and reveals that she sought professional help to understand her relationship patterns. “Looking at the wreckage of my first and second marriages, I learned early in therapy that being sent to boarding school at the age of eight meant I had little understanding of intimacy,” he writes. people.
In an interview with the outlet, Spencer praised his wife, Karen, for supporting him through the difficult process of writing the book.
“Karen was supportive,” he said. people. “It was very difficult for her, I think, for her husband to undergo the most profound treatment that had essentially very difficult content for four and a half years. And she supported my idea of doing it.”
“I think she always wanted me to be happier and healthier.” Spencer continued. “And that seems very true. So I'm grateful that she was there for me while I was going through this. “What I now realize was an essential step.”