Charles Spencer and his third wife Karen got married on 18 June 2011 just two months after his nephew Prince William wed Princess Kate – and the brides chose surprisingly similar wedding dresses.
The 9th Earl Spencer chose to have a low-key wedding at his ancestral home, Althorp House, a Grade I home on the 13,000-acre estate where he grew up alongside his late sister Princess Diana. To mark their twelfth wedding anniversary, which falls on the same day as Father's Day, join us as we look back at the couple's intimate ceremony.
Very few photos have been released of their big day, but one rare picture showed off Karen's stunning figure-hugging lace wedding dress. It featured a low V-neck and sheer capped sleeves with lace applique, which was a more daring take on the one the Princess of Wales wore weeks earlier.
Her Alexander McQueen bridal gown had a similar V-neck and intricate lace style, but she added demure long sleeves and chose a full skirt instead of a fitted silhouette.
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Karen teamed her wedding dress with her dark hair styled into a bouncy blowdry – which is also a favourite style of Kate's – and accentuated her features with long lashes, a sweep of blusher and pink lips. Pearl stud earrings could be seen underneath her flowing hair, and she held a drop bouquet of flowers to finish her elegant ensemble.
Charles, then 47, also looked suave in a navy pinstripe suit with a blue patterned tie.
Prince William and Prince Harry were both unable to attend, as the Prince of Wales was working at RAF Valley in Anglesey and the Duke of Sussex had "a long-standing private engagement".
Karen and Charles had both previously been married. Charles proposed to his first wife Victoria Aitken after just six weeks of dating and they got married in 1989 and welcomed four children before splitting in 1997. In 2001, Charles tied the knot with Caroline Freud and during their six-year marriage, they had two children together, Edmund and Lara. They got divorced in 2007.
Meanwhile, Karen shares two kids with her film producer ex-husband Mark Gordon, to whom she was married from 1997 to 2003.
The White Ship Down author proposed to the former model, now known as Countess Spencer, with the most sentimental trilogy ring which was once given to Charles' great-grandmother, Countess Margaret Spencer.
Karen has confessed that the breakdown of his former relationships made him "motivated" to work on himself.
When The Sunday Times quizzed Karen on being Charles' third wife, she replied: "I've been a first wife and a third and - trust me on this - you really want to be the third because men are so motivated at this point. They are really, really paying attention.
"The most appealing thing about Charles for me was how willing he was to work on himself, and continue to do so. We both do."
She added of his previous relationships: "It’s pretty obvious why Charles found me. His mother left when he was two and I understand that wound because of my [NGO] work. There were always women who would have been a good match for him, but he wasn’t interested. It was the ones who couldn’t love him back who were magnetic for him.
"When you’re damaged, you look for damage. If you’ve experienced trauma and abandonment to the degree Charles did, your brain is hard-wired. I think we are particularly suited to each other."
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