Earl Spencer's girlfriend sues his wife in £2m privacy battle

Times

23-07-2025

Earl Spencer's estranged wife and his girlfriend are locked in a legal dispute which will cost more than £2 million, a court has heard.
The brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, began dating Dr Cat Jarman last year. She is suing his third wife, whom she accuses of sharing details of her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The Norwegian archaeologist, 43, lodged a High Court claim against Countess Karen Spencer, who was married to the Earl for 13 years, over the alleged misuse of 'private information' last October, although the details were not disclosed.
It was then revealed in December that Jarman had accused countess Spencer of sharing her diagnosis with the earl, a 'close group of personal friends', staff at Althorp — the Spencers' ancestral home — her personal trainer and teachers at her daughter's school.
She claims she was then forced to go public with her diagnosis after leaked court papers led to speculation on social media, despite working 'very hard' to keep it a secret.
The countess has denied any liability and states that any reference to Jarman's condition 'was entirely legitimate and justified'.
Both parties have reached an agreement on estimated legal costs for the case which amounts to more than £2.2 million, Mark Gidden, King's Bench Master, heard on Monday, according to The Telegraph.
• Earl Spencer 'dumped wife of 13 years by text message'
Kirsten Sjovoll, representing Jarman, said countess Spencer's legal costs of more than half a million were 'excessively high', but the judge disagreed. Gidden said: 'To my mind, they are costs falling within a range that is to be expected.'
Sjovoll told the judge the overall agreed future costs for the claimant stood at £1,217,880, while the defendant's legal costs were £1,000,087. The court did not hear how much countess Spencer was being sued for.
Jarman said she 'worked very hard indeed' to keep her diagnosis hidden from those close to her, including the 61-year-old earl when they first met.
When she lodged the court case, the details of her condition remained confidential, and therefore the crux of the case. But during an interview with MailOnline, Jarman revealed how she was 'utterly devastated' by the diagnosis.
• Earl Spencer's wife claims she learnt of 'affair' on a Zoom call
She said: 'I have Multiple Sclerosis. I was diagnosed eight years ago, when I was in the final stages of doing my PhD. I'd worked very hard at making sure it stayed a secret. For six years, I had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden. None of my TV colleagues knew. Even Charles did not know.'
Speaking of the alleged revelation of her condition, she said: 'I just felt utterly sick. I went into a panic, particularly over the implications for my career.'
Jarman claimed the countess knew her diagnosis was closely guarded but that she allegedly said to Spencer: 'You do know she has MS, don't you?'
Countess Spencer, meanwhile, has accused her estranged husband and Jarman of attempting to 'garner publicity for their relationship' in the press.
She said Jarman's decision to give the interview to MailOnline in which she revealed her diagnosis was 'hopelessly inconsistent' with her legal case.
'Deliberately disclosing the fact that she has MS to the world in a manner calculated to give it maximum publicity is not only entirely inconsistent with any claim to privacy, but it also nullifies the ostensible purpose of these proceedings,' the defence reads.
The countess and the earl are in the midst of divorce proceedings.