Earl Spencer to marry again

Earl Spencer is to marry again, it was announced last night.

Princess Diana's younger brother will wed Caroline Freud, former wife of public relations expert Matthew Freud.

The wedding will take place at Althorp, the Spencer family's Northamptonshire estate, on Saturday, December 15.

A spokesman for the couple said it would be 'a quiet family ceremony'.

The earl, 37, was divorced acrimoniously from his former wife, model Victoria Lockwood in 1996. They have four children.

He first met Mrs Freud when they were students at Oxford.

The romance between the pair was revealed two years ago when they attended the premiere of the film Notting Hill together.

The romance was said to have lifted the earl's spirits following the death of his sister and his divorce from Victoria, 34, who was plagued with eating disorders and drink problems throughout their marriage.

He and Victoria were engaged within six weeks of meeting in 1989. The marriage was soon put under strain after his confession to a fling with old flame Sally Ann Lasson in Paris.

Miss Lockwood sought treatment for her problems in 1995, and the marriage was formally ended in March of the following year.

Mrs Freud, a former junior school teacher, split with her husband - the son of former MP and humorist Clement Freud - in December 1999 after eight years of marriage.

She has several million pounds in the bank after the sale of the marital home in Kensington, and has since bought the house featured in the film Notting Hill from director Richard Curtis and his partner Emma Freud, her ex-husband's sister.

Earl Spencer helped Miss Freud and her two sons move into the two- storey Victorian house after she bought the property early in 1999 for £1.2million. She also has a farmhouse in Cornwall.

Her ex-husband married Elisabeth, the daughter of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, in a lavish ceremony at Blenheim Palace this summer.

The earl's previous girlfriends have included South African Chantal Collopy.

Their relationship reached its peak five years ago when he bought her a house in Cape Town. After their two-and-ahalf-year affair ended, Miss Collopy unleashed her fury by providing vital evidence against Spencer, in the form of a love letter, during his divorce from Victoria in the Cape High Court.

She even accompanied Victoria to court on one occasion, sitting behind her to provide moral support while the earl was just feet away.

Four years ago, Earl Spencer delivered an emotional speech at his sister's funeral in Westminster Abbey. In it, he attacked the media for hounding Princess Diana and raised questions about the role of the Royal Family in bringing up his nephews Princes William and Harry.

But he recently marked the 20th anniversary of his sister's marriage to Prince Charles by indicating that he would raise no objections if the Prince married Camilla Parker Bowles.