Frustration of Diana’s brother Earl Spencer as his estranged wife hasn’t moved out after breakdown of their marriage

Friends of Princess Diana’s brother last night told how frustrated he is that his wife has not left his mansion after the failure of their marriage.

The MoS revealed in June that Earl Spencer and Countess Spencer’s relationship had ended due to the pressure of writing his harrowing memoir, in which he describes the physical and sexual abuse he suffered at boarding school.

In April, the couple announced their impending separation to staff at Althorp, the family estate in Northamptonshire.

But despite the split, the Canadian-born countess wrote on Instagram last week that she is “still in Althorp at the moment” and posted a photo of a walled kitchen garden and two sheep named Lucky and Minty, who she said she would take with her when she left.

Sources close to Charles Spencer claim that the Countess, who became his third wife 13 years ago, has postponed her departure.

Earl Spencer and his estranged wife Karen Spencer in 2017

“Does she have no dignity at all?” a friend asked last night.

This comes after the MoS was made aware of tensions in Althorp since the couple moved permanently to the UK from Los Angeles five years ago.

Sources claim the Countess initiated a costly move towards organic farming at Althorp, which ‘failed’, partly because hundreds of acres of the estate’s farmland have been infested with blackgrass, a weed common in the East Midlands. A farm worker on the estate, where the Earl’s elder sister Diana is buried, said: ‘She knew nothing about farming but she thought she knew everything.’

Earl Spencer and Canadian philanthropist Karen Gordon were married in June 2011 at the Althorp estate. The couple had met the previous year on a blind date at a Los Angeles restaurant. Karen’s first husband was millionaire Hollywood producer Mark Gordon, known for his work on Saving Private Ryan and The Day After Tomorrow, whom she met while working the front desk at the Four Seasons in Toronto in 1994.

The couple married three years later, but separated in 2003, with Karen reportedly receiving a $1.3 million settlement. An accounting firm, Gursey Schneider, which she hired to handle her divorce finances, reportedly won a court judgment against her for an unpaid bill of $136,000 (£102,000). She was later linked to billionaire George Soros.

Aerial view of Althorp, this Grade II listed country house was the home of Lady Diana Spencer, who later became Princess of Wales

Earl Spencer has a 12-year-old daughter with Karen, four children with his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, and two children with his second wife, Caroline Hutton.

However, it was reported that relations between Karen and some of the Count’s children were strained, and they were believed to have reservations about the union.

It is believed the Earl tried to reassure those in attendance, but Lady Amelia Spencer, 32, is said to have banned her father from attending her wedding to Greg Mallett in South Africa in March last year because he insisted on attending with his wife.

Earl Spencer and the Countess have reportedly drawn up a prenuptial agreement. In her Instagram post last week, the Countess said: “I look forward to closing this chapter with you all and launching the next.” The Countess has been contacted for comment.