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Earl Spencer confirms new relationship with ‘brilliant’ archaeologist Cat Jarman

Diana, Princess of Wales’s brother Charles revealed he first met his podcast co-host Dr Jarman when she came to dig up a Roman villa on his land.

Laura Elston
Tuesday 15 October 2024 13:51 BST
Earl Spencer is the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
Earl Spencer is the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

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Earl Spencer has confirmed he is a new relationship with “brilliant archaeologist” Cat Jarman.

Diana, Princess of Wales’s brother Charles revealed they met when Norwegian-born Dr Jarman came to dig up a Roman villa on his land.

The pair, along with Reverend Richard Coles, became co-hosts of the popular history podcast The Rabbit Hole Detectives, with the trio writing a trivia book to accompany the series.

Earl Spencer, who has been married three times, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley: “Cat Jarman, who is my partner now actually. She’s a brilliant archaeologist.

“It sounds like an Alan Partridge title, but she is Nordic Person of 2024, which is usually handed out to someone like Sven-Goran Eriksson or a composer to be Nordic Person of the Year.”

He added: “Well, first of all 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.

“Cat said ‘Let’s do a podcast’ and out of the podcast came the book.”

The earl also spoke about his sister, the late princess, and how he visits her burial site on an island at his ancestral home, Althorp House, almost every day.

“Every day people tell me what an inspiration she was and how much they miss her, what they did the day she died,” he said.

Diana – the mother of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex – was just 36 when she was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997.

“Like everyone else you sort of get used to it (grief) without it ever going away. I go pretty much every day there,” the earl added.

Good Morning Britain is broadcast weekdays from 6am on ITV1, ITVX, STV & STV Player.

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