The Earl and the Countess of Snowdon have “amicably agreed” that their marriage has come to an end and will divorce, according to a spokesman for the couple.
The Earl – David Armstrong-Jones – the son of the late Princess Margaret is known for his high-end furniture company.
It was tonight confirmed he and wife Serena, the Countess of Snowdon, are to separate after more than 25 years of marriage.
A spokesman for the couple said: “The Earl and Countess of Snowdon have amicably agreed that their marriage has come to an end and that they shall be divorced.
“They ask that the press respect their privacy and that of their family.”
The Queen, 93, who who admitted in her Christmas broadcast that 2019 had been a “bumpy” year after a series of family dramas, is said to be upset by the development.
She has always been close to her nephew, her late sister Princess Margaret’s son, David Armstrong-Jones, 58, and Serena, 49, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat whose father, Charles Stanhope, is the Earl of Harrington.
The couple wed in October 1993 and have two children Viscount Linley, Charles Armstrong-Jones and Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones.
The Earl’s mother Margaret, the Queen’s sister, died in 2002 and he became the 2nd Earl of Snowdon following the death of his father the Earl of Snowdon, celebrity photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, in 2017.
The announcement comes after the Queen's grandson Peter Phillips and wife Autumn revealed last week they are to split.
