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Who Is Earl Spencer?

Harry and Meghan Give a Nod to Earl Spencer in Archie's Birth Announcement — Here's What to Know

May 9 2019

Baby Sussex has arrived, y'all! Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is the first son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and though he is only seventh in line of succession to the British throne, we feel like we've been waiting all of our lives for him. There are a few royals who are particularly excited and even included in baby Archie's birth announcement, one of them being Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, who you may not be familiar with.

Charles Spencer is the younger brother of the late Princess Diana, Harry's mother, which makes him the great uncle of baby Archie. Prince Harry has always had a very special relationship with his mother's family, even mentioning Diana's three siblings in the official birth announcement, and though you may be familiar with Harry's maternal aunts, here are a few facts you should know Harry's uncle.

Image Source: Getty / David M. Benett

  • 3: The number of marriages that he's had. He divorced his first wife, Victoria Aitken, in 1997 and his second wife, Caroline Freud, in 2007. He is currently married to Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer, with whom he tied the knot in 2011.
  • 3: The number of older sisters that he has. Sarah was born in 1955, Jane was born in 1957, and Diana was born in 1961, three years before Charles was born.
  • 4: Age he was when his parents divorced in 1969.
  • 5: The number of history books that he's written: Althorp, the Story of an English House; The Spencers: a Personal History of an English Family; Blenheim, Battle For Europe; Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier; and Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles.
Image Source: Getty / Jon Kopaloff

  • 7: The number of children that he has. He has four children with Victoria (Kitty, Eliza, Amelia, and Louis), two children with Caroline (Edmund and Lara), and one with Karen (Charlotte).
  • 9: The number of years that he spent as an on-air correspondent for NBC News.
  • 15: The number of years that had passed after Diana's death when he chose his fifth daughter's middle name in his sister's honour.
  • 15: The number of years that he has hosted the annual Althorp Literary Festival.
Image Source: Getty / David Buchan

  • 25: Age of Charles's eldest son Louis John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, who is the heir apparent to the Spencer earldom.
  • 27: Charles's age when his father John died in 1992 and Charles became the 9th Earl Spencer.
  • 90: Number of rooms in the Althorp Estate, the Spencer family home where he currently resides (and where Diana is buried).
  • 1508: Year that the Althorp Estate was built by the Spencer family.
Image Source: Getty / David M. Benett

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