The brother of the late Princess of Wales, Earl Spencer, was yesterday accused of being a serial adulterer within months of getting married, as claims about his private life were laid bare in a South African court.
The lawyer acting for his estranged wife, Ms Victoria Lockwood, also told the court that the Earl had called her into the bathroom and asked her for a divorce while he was sitting in his bath.
Lady Spencer's lawyer, Mr Jeremy Gauntlet, was speaking on the first day of a hearing at the High Court in Cape Town to decide whether the couple's divorce case will be heard in South Africa or Britain.
He said that while his client was recovering in a rehabilitation clinic, she was told by friends that her husband had slept with 10 to 12 women.
"Within months of the marriage, the plaintiff was unfaithful," Mr Gauntlet said. "There had been a whole series of liaisons thereafter."
Last night, a spokesman for Lord Spencer said: "These are allegations that have been made by Lady Spencer's counsel and are strenuously denied by Lord Spencer."
The claims confirm that Lord Spencer, who has frequently accused the media of invading his family's privacy, faces a messy and acrimonious divorce from the former model, whom he married in September 1989.
He moved to South Africa in 1996 after a series of clashes with newspapers
over stories about an extra-marital affair and his wife's treatment for eating disorders.
Lady Spencer looked tired in court yesterday while her husband chatted and joked with his lawyers.
He wants the case heard in South Africa, but Lady Spencer wants the hearing to take place in Britain. Most of his assets are in the UK and if the case is heard there, Lady Spencer would reportedly be likely to received a larger court-ordered settlement that in South Africa.
Mr Gauntlet said a South African court should not rule on divorce between two British nationals. He noted the couple's four children were all signed up for British public schools, indicating the move to South Africa was not permanent.