Earl Spencer plainly is a forgiving man. For his latest divorce, his third, from Karen Gordon, he’s hired Fiona Shackleton, the legendary divorce lawyer who acted for Prince Charles (as was) in his sister Diana’s divorce. No matter. Lady Shackleton — the lucrativeness of whose speciality can be seen in her title, of Belgravia — is the lawyer of choice for celebrities looking to come out of their difficult marriages with their dignity and assets more or less intact.
The earl is, then, something of a veteran of these negotiations. Three wives, seven children. It puts into perspective the other side of William’s and Harry’s family, their mother’s relations, who are, it seems, as dysfunctional as the Windsors, which is saying something. Earl Spencer, in his historic address during Diana’s funeral, had expressed the hope that the princes would find refuge with Diana’s family. Well, if it was an exemplar of marital stability they were after, the Earl wasn’t it. The nation may be grateful for William’s choice of nice safe middle-class Kate Middleton for his spouse. Aristocratic values aren’t what they were since Queen Elizabeth’s day, when you’d be barred from Ascot for a divorce.
