Just like his older sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, Charles Spencer has been unlucky in love, with three failed marriages to his name. While the ninth Earl Spencer's love life didn't work out as planned, his three trips down the aisle resulted in seven children, ranging in age from 33 to 12. Let's take a look at the the lives of Charles Spencer's seven children, including his three eldest daughters, who all share a startling resemblance to their late aunt, Princess Diana , and trod the halls of her childhood home.
READ MORE: Zooey Deschanel grew up in Hollywood with her famous family Lady Catherine, better known as 'Kitty', was born on December 28, 1990, to Spencer, then a TV news correspondent and book reviewer, and his first wife, Victoria Lockwood (now Victoria Aitken), a model. Soon after her birth, Lady Kitty appeared with her mother and father on the cover of her first magazine and followed this up with another magazine cover with her mother in 1992. Lady Kitty spent the first five years of her life in England, mostly at Althorp Estate.
Her parents inherited the titles Earl and Countess Spencer following her grandfather's death in 1992. When she was five, her parents moved Lady Kitty and her three younger siblings to Cape Town, South Africa. READ MORE: All of Michael Jackson's siblings have gold records to their name Unfortunately, the marriage did not last.
Her parents were in the midst of divorce when Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, following a car crash in Paris. After their divorce, Lady Kitty and her siblings continued to live in South Africa with their mother. Lady Kitty would shuttle back and forth to visit her father in England.
After school, she studied at the University of Cape Town before moving to Italy for further study, eventually completing a master's degree in luxury brand management back in London. She decided to try her hand at modelling, signing with Storm Management, London, in 2015. She appeared in Tatler that same year and in 2017 made her runway debut at Milan Fashion Week.
However, it was her head-turning appearance at the 2018 wedding of her cousin Prince Harry to Meghan Markle that put Lady Kitty in the spotlight. Reflecting on her sudden fame during a 2019 interview with Harper's Bazaar, she said, "It was definitely unexpected. [My Instagram followers] went from 17,000 to half a million in one night.
"I thought I had someone else's phone when I woke up the next morning. I had to turn my notifications off because my phone was going to die." It led to deals with luxury jewellery brand Bulgari and Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.
When she isn't modelling, Lady Kitty, now 33, supports charities such as the UK's Centrepoint, of which she was an ambassador. Her cousin, Prince William, is patron of the UK's leading youth homelessness charity. She does not speak about her relationship with her cousins "out of respect.
" In 2021, Lady Kitty married Michael Lewis, a South African-born businessman who is chairman of a fashion retail group. The couple went on to secretly welcome a child, only revealing the birth on Mother's Day this year when Lady Kitty took to Instagram to share photos and write, "It's the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one." In June, Lady Kitty took to Instagram again to reveal her daughter's name, writing, "Athena watching the world go by" alongside a photo of her daughter looking out a window.
Just 18 months after Lady Kitty's birth, her parents welcomed Lady Elizabeth 'Eliza' on July 10, 1992, one minute before her twin sister, Lady Amelia. She told Tatler in 2021 that she and her twin sister had "always been very close," attending the same school as their older sister, Reddam House Constantia. They played in the same sporting teams for swimming, netball, tennis, riding and water polo.
In the holidays, they would visit their father in England at Althorp Estate. In 2008, when Lady Eliza was still a teenager, her boyfriend, Chris Elliott, died when the car he was passenger in crashed into a tree. She told Tatler it was a "very difficult time" and was still seeing a therapist years later.
She has a small star-shaped tattoo in his memory on the inside of her wrist. In 2016, Lady Eliza started dating Channing Millerd, an entrepreneur. The two reportedly met at university in Cape Town.
She told Tatler in 2021, "I want to say how fortunate I was to have found someone like him. He has held me through the sad times and anniversaries. He doesn't try to change my past.
" Lady Eliza has long supported a number of charities. In 2020, she and her mother visited Malawi for 10 days to work with United Purpose, a charity set up to support refugees from the Mozambican Civil War. Lady Eliza remained in South Africa throughout the pandemic, where she filled in her time completing an online interior design course.
In 2021, she moved to London where she hoped to work as an interior designer but instead signed with Storm Management. Her career was launched with a 20-page spread alongside Amelia for Tatler, which included the front cover. Since then, she has featured in various international Vogue titles and worked for brands including Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Chopard, Michael Kors, Bvlgari and Alberta Ferretti.
Her Instagram account is full of modelling pics, including many with her twin sister. Now 32, she divides her time between homes in London and Cape Town. Lady Katya Amelia 'Amelia' Spencer was born on July 10, 1992, one minute after her twin sister Lady Eliza.
They attended the same school and university, which is where Lady Amelia met her now husband Greg Mallett. After graduating, Lady Amelia worked as an events planner before she and Mallett relocated to London in January 2020. According to Tatler , Lady Amelia planned to work as an events planner but just weeks later, the COVID pandemic struck, so she and Mallett jetted back to South Africa.
"I had to make the decision where I was going to spend lockdown. And I wanted to be close to Eliza and my family." After more than a decade together, Lady Amelia announced her engagement to Mallett in July 2020.
On their return to London, Lady Amelia also signed with Storm Management. The 2021 Tatler photo shoot alongside Eliza was her first modelling job . The author of the accompanying article noted Lady Amelia initially appeared nervous while modelling an Oscar de la Renta gown, only relaxing after summoning her twin to stand beside her.
Since then, she has featured in various international Vogue titles and has worked with brands including Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Chopard, Michael Kors, Bvlgari and Alberta Ferretti. She is also an ambassador for British fine jewellery brand Boodles alongside her sister. The twins, 32, often work together, even travelling to Australia in 2023 for the Melbourne Cup.
Lady Amelia and Mallett, a fitness trainer, wed in South Africa in March 2023. As was the case for her older sister Kitty's wedding, her father was not present. Photos from the big day appeared in both Hello! and Vogue magazine.
Charles and Victoria Spencer's fourth child, Louis Frederick John Spencer , was born March 14, 1994. Following his grandfather's death, his father became Earl Spencer and Louis became Viscount Althorp. Louis was just two when his parents moved to South Africa.
Like his sisters, he attended school in South Africa and regularly travelled back and forth to England. After finishing school at Diocesan College, Cape Town, he attended the University of Edinburgh before graduating from Arts Educational Schools, a performing arts college in west London. His sister Amelia told Tatler in 2021 her brother adores Althorp, the ancestral estate he will one day inherit.
"He spent lockdown there and has embraced all the English traditions," she said. His father is supportive of his plans to become a professional actor. Louis, now 30, is known by his professional name, Louis Lyons, and is represented by talent agency Tavistock Wood.
But perhaps his most well known role to date was accompanying his mother and two of his older sisters to the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Honourable Edmund 'Ned' Spencer was born on October 6, 2003, to Charles Spencer and his second wife, Caroline Freud, whom he married in 2001, by which time he was a published author. Now 20, he goes by the name 'Ned' and is forging out a career as a DJ while studying events management at an English university.
The youngest of Earl Spencer's sons stayed largely out of the spotlight growing up but agreed to an interview with Tatler this year to promote his work in the music industry. His father supports his endeavours, even taking to X earlier this year to write, "My son Ned is DJ at the below event — tickets are available here" with a link. Ned splits his time between his mother's home in London's Notting Hill and his father's Althorp Estate, which he said was a sanctuary from his life as a DJ.
Lady Lara Caroline Spencer was born on March 16, 2006, just one year before her parents separated. Like her brother, she has stayed largely out of the spotlight, although she was a flower girl at the 2012 wedding of her cousin Emily McCorquodale, which was attended by Prince William, his wife Catherine and Prince Harry. She recently came out to support her father at his book launch and he used a photo from the event to wish her a happy 18th birthday on Instagram.
"My darling daughter Lara supporting me at my book launch on Thursday — but today we are all going to celebrate brilliant, dazzling, HER: for it's Lara's 18th birthday today. So much love, my darling..
." Last year, during an episode of his podcast The Rabbit Hole Detective , Spencer said his daughter was considering studying at a US university after finishing school. Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer was born on July 30, 2012, and is the youngest child of Charles Spencer.
She is the only child he shares with his third wife, Canadian Karen Gordon, whom he met on a blind date and married in June 2011. Lady Charlotte, now 12, grew up in luxury at the Althorp Estate with her parents before their shock separation was announced in June. Just last month she made a rare appearance on her mother's Instagram account when she posted a photo of her daughter with their dog and pony to announce the two animals had been put down.
While the Earl's eldest son will one day inherit Althorp, the rest of his reported $200 million wealth will be divided amongst his children..
