Princess Diana's brother confirms relationship with his podcast co-host amid battle with estranged wife

Earl Charles Spencer lives on the Althorp Estate
PA
Ed Griffiths

By Ed Griffiths


Published: 16/10/2024

- 12:43

The new couple met in 2021 when Prof Jarman led a search for the remains of an ancient Roman villa on the grounds of his private estate while filming a Channel 4 documentary

Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, has confirmed his relationship with podcast co-host Cat Jarman, a Viking archaeologist.

The confirmation follows Prof Jarman High Court’s claim against the Earls’s third wife for the misuse of private information.


The Earl, the brother of the late Princess Diana, revealed in June that he and Countess Spencer were getting a divorce, making it his third time.

The new couple met in 2021 when Prof Jarman led a search for the remains of an ancient Roman villa on the grounds of his private estate while filming a Channel 4 documentary.

Earl Charles SpencerEarl Charles Spencer lives on the Althorp EstatePA

The pair became co-hosts of a history podcast along with Rev Richard Coles called The Rabbit Hole Detectives.

The trio have also written a trivia book to accompany the podcast.

The Earl revealed his new relationship whilst appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

He said: “Cat Jarman, who is my partner now actually, she’s a brilliant archaeologist."

Earl Charles Spencer

The Earl revealed his new relationship whilst appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

PA

The Earl continued: “I met her because we both had the same publisher, but secondly – I know this sounds rather bizarre – but she came to dig up a Roman villa on some land I’ve got.

“Richard, Cat and I would end up together, and Richard had been recently bereaved so was semi living with me and the three of us would just talk and talk and talk.

The Earl also spoke about the influence of his sister, the late Princess Diana, and said: “Every day, people tell me what an inspiration she was and how much they miss her, what they did the day she died. Like everyone else, you sort of get used to it [grief] without it ever going away.”

He has maintained a close relationship with his nephew, Prince Harry, since his department to America in early 2020.

The Earl is the father of six children, four with his first wife, Victoria Aitken, and two from his second marriage to Caroline Freud.

Earl Charles Spencer and Prince HarryEarl Charles Spencer welcomed Prince Harry into his home earlier this yearPA

He revealed that Prof Jarman suggested starting their podcast, which led to them publishing a book.

In May, Prof Jarman was presented with the CoScan Nordic Person of the Year award, which recognises outstanding merit by an individual, body, or group related to one or more of the five Nordic countries.

Fellow Norwegian and world chess champion Magnus Carlsen and Danish comedian and presenter Sandi Toksvig have also previously won the award.

Prof Jarman moved to the UK from Norway to complete a doctorate at the University of Bristol, specialising in the archaeology of the Viking Age.

She is the author of River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads and The Bone Chests: Unlocking the Secrets of the Anglo-Saxons.

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