Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer has married his archaeologist partner Professor Cat Jarman in a private ceremony held in Arizona last Friday, marking his fourth walk down the aisle.
The 62-year-old Earl wed the Norwegian academic just three months after his divorce from third wife Karen was officially concluded in February.
The nuptials also followed shortly after a legal dispute between Jarman and Karen Spencer was resolved.
Spencer and Jarman first crossed paths five years ago when she arrived at the Spencer family's ancestral seat, Althorp Estate, to conduct an archaeological excavation.
The couple have nine children between them from their previous relationships.
|Caitlyn Jenning
The couple have nine children between them from their previous relationships.
The pair initially connected through their mutual fascination with the past. Jarman, an internationally recognised authority on the Viking era, had come to Althorp with a television crew searching for a lost Roman settlement.
Spencer, himself a historian who has penned nine books, found an intellectual companion in the professor. Both have described their early bond as one between "kindred souls" united by what they called their "nerdy" passions.
Their friendship eventually led to a collaborative podcast project alongside Rev Richard Coles.
Among the wedding photographs shared by the newlyweds was a selfie captured by Jarman herself.
|Cat Spencer
At the time they met, Spencer was in the midst of writing his memoirs about the abuse he endured at boarding school, a process that prompted him to re-examine his personal relationships.
He has attributed the breakdown of his first two marriages to his difficult childhood experiences.
The Arizona wedding stood in stark contrast to Spencer's three previous marriages, which were traditional society affairs laden with formal etiquette and elaborate seating arrangements.
This time, the couple chose an elopement against a dramatic backdrop of desert landscapes, red rock formations and expansive canyon views.
Among the wedding photographs shared by the newlyweds was a selfie captured by Jarman herself.
The pair initially connected through their mutual fascination with the past.
|Caitlyn Jenning
In a joint statement, the couple expressed their happiness: "We both feel so incredibly lucky to have progressed from being colleagues, to friendship, to deep love and connection. Each stage of our relationship has been underpinned by laughter and we share a passion for life."
Jarman has spoken candidly about adapting to her unexpected new world at Althorp. Having taken up horse riding for the first time and acquired pet alpacas, she described herself as "a normal person plonked in an abnormal world."
The Norwegian-born academic noted that her home country lacks a comparable aristocratic tradition, adding that even the Norwegian royal family attracts little public interest.
When previously asked about becoming a countess, Jarman expressed preference for her hard-earned academic titles of PhD and professor.
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