I’m really enjoying the “Lady Kitty Spencer got married” story. Lady Kitty is the daughter of Charles, the Earl Spencer, which means Kitty is/was Princess Diana’s niece. For much of her life, people have tried to make “Kitty is the new Diana” happen, even though (imo) the two women look nothing alike and they have radically different vibes. Following the Earl Spencer’s first divorce, Kitty and her siblings were mostly raised in South Africa with their mother. So it’s not a surprise that Kitty fell for a South African man. What is shocking, I suppose, is that she went for a man who is 32 years older than her. She married an elderly sugar daddy and he gave her the wedding of her dreams, in a full-on Italian villa and multiple Dolce & Gabbana couture dress changes. Still, there were some questions and dramas. Page Six had some interesting updates and details:
Kitty’s five Dolce & Gabbana wedding dresses: Stefano Gabbana told Tatler that the bride’s choices were partly influenced by her love of Italy and partly because she is “a girl who is very attached to her origins, to England, to her heritage of the great Victorian era. And, like all English people, she has a great passion for all kinds of flowers.”
Why didn’t she wear the Spencer Tiara? But in an unusual break from a century-old family tradition, the bride decided not to wear the so-called “Spencer Tiara” — worn most famously by the 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer at her ill-fated 1981 marriage to Prince Charles — to the marriage ceremony. This is notable because Kitty is the first-born child of Earl Spencer and duly expected to fly the Spencer flag. The diamond encrusted bandeau was made by the renowned British jeweler Garrard in the 1930s. In addition to gracing Diana’s crown, it also provided the crowning glory for Diana’s elder sisters, Lady Sarah Spencer and Lady Jane Spencer, on their wedding days. Lady Kitty Spencer’s mother, Victoria, wore it at her 1989 union with Earl Spencer, which ended in bitter divorce. The newest bride has not explained her reasons for skipping the tiara, but some members of the British upper class speculate it was to stop the residual heartache over Diana’s untimely death encroaching on her big day. And it’s possible that the dissolution of her parents’ marriage contributed to the decision as well.
Why didn’t Kitty’s father come? Another somewhat surprising element of the wedding was the absence of the bride’s 57-year-old dad, Charles. The Earl did not walk his daughter down the aisle, and reportedly stayed home in England on the Spencers’ ancestral estate of Althorp. Insiders attribute the no-show to a serious shoulder injury he recently suffered and his possible reluctance to obey Italian laws ordering visitors to the country to isolate for five days on arrival.
Is Kitty converting? She started dating Lewis in 2018 but the couple only made their relationship public in May 2019. He proposed with a $430,000 diamond ring shortly before Christmas of 2019. Spencer had reportedly been receiving instruction ahead of their wedding in Lewis’ Jewish faith. She is fiercely protective of her privacy and her relationship, refusing to talk in interviews about Lewis. But she revealed recently that she craved the simple things in life. “I just look forward to a really happy home life: a happy marriage and happy children,” she told Town & Country in May. “And I feel very at peace that things play out the way they should.”
I kind of buy the idea that it was Kitty’s choice to not wear the Spencer tiara. Even though it’s a beautiful piece beloved by jewelry-watchers everywhere, it does feel like that tiara carries some kind of curse or bad vibe. I believe that the Earl Spencer probably would have allowed his daughter to wear it on her wedding day but she was probably like “meh.” As for Charles’ absence… sure, a back injury. Mmhm. And while I’m sure Kitty invited her cousins (Prince William and Prince Harry), they both skipped out. We actually have no idea where William and Kate are at the moment.
Photos courtesy of Kitty Spencer & Dolce & Gabbana’s Instagram.
The guy isn’t wearing socks with those shoes. That’s just a no for me. I don’t care how old he is.
Hey maybe they’re those low cut socks I wear with itchy flats sometimes!
Seeing the dress in motion – I really love it even though D&G suck.
All he needs is a goatee and he’d be a dead ringer for Colonel Sanders in that suit!
I wish Lady Kitty the best. I will not question her choices. I remember her mother’s wedding photos and at least Kitty looks half way happy. I wonder what the royalists who called the biracial duchess a gold digger will have to say about her parents’ non attendance.
Oh wow, I peeked at those photos …. Yikes what a dour couple they were
You don’t wear socks with Italian loafers….its not done
Correct!!! What a beautiful pair of loafers
Her dad must of hurt his shoulder as he ripped the Spencer tiara out of her hands while telling her he disapproved of her marriage to this old man.
Hahahahahahaha best comment ever
Snort thanks for that image lol!
LOL. That was my thought too. He’ll come to her REAL wedding, should she ever have one.
Exactly.🤣🤣
Every single Spencer daughter/niece of this generation has worn the Spencer tiara.
Most recently Celia McCorquodale.
Kitty leans hard on her Spencer identity. I don’t for a minute believe it was her choice not to wear the tiara. Even if just for her balcony kiss scene.
I’m going to go with – unhealthy paternal jealousy, anti-Semitism, and unwillingness to submit to travel restrictions.
As for the tiara – I wouldn’t want to wear that thing at my wedding either, for so many reasons.
Shoulder injury, sure. wonder when the British media are going to make a song and dance out of the fact that Kitty’s father did not attend her wedding. I won’t hold my breath though.
You may be be spot on. I remember her mother’s wedding. The sadness was palpable. Then there was bits of news about the state of the marriage, alleged eating disorders etc. I wish Kitty well but her choice of glucose grandaddy is quite telling.
The Spencer Tiara is cursed.
Yeah, a couple of notoriously failed marriages attached to that thing, plus (and I realized this is controversial) I think it’s kind of ugly. Not to my taste.
Yes. It wasn’t exactly a good luck charm for Kitty’s mom, Diana or her mother.
Maybe Charles hocked it….like this one.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/jewellery-watches/news/a40391/diamond-tiara-owned-by-princess-dianas-family-has-sold/
This wedding is everywhere on social media, there are videos that look like she’s in a perfume commercial, pics of everything about the wedding but almost no pics and no videos on the groom. I guess age is taboo and that he does look too old for her.
The wedding photos are an infomercial for D&G who probably made the dresses for free so they have to get their money’s worth.
makes sense 100%
Have you seen her instagram? She is a walking advertisement of Dolce and Gabbana. That’s what they are showing: the dresses and their ambassador, the fact that it was a wedding is anecdotal.
My father didn’t walk me down the aisle, and it had nothing to do with anything but his own self. He’d been ill, and he didn’t want people to see him like that. My mother took his place, and it was lovely.
Yes, it still hurt. What you can’t change, you accept.
Oh, I’m sure there are many valid reasons he may not have come. And I don’t think a father has to walk a daughter down an aisle for a wedding to be beautiful or even traditional. Really, it’s kind of a sexist practice. I love the idea of your mother doing it!
She looks stunning in that blue dress. D&G still suck though.
I like the blue dress too, altho the visible boning is a trend I hope to see the last of soon.
Dolce and Gabbanna are utter trash. it’s too bad some of their dresses are so pretty, because as people, they are quite the opposite.
Her necklace with that dress reminds me of the one Kate wore with the strapless black velvet. Only Kate’s looks like the baby/starter version of Kitty’s!
@TheOG I thought the same too! That was one of Kate’s best looks IMO (I think her hair would have looked better pulled back, but it still looked good down) and that dress was gorgeous. We have never seen her wear it again and i can’t figure out why not. Maybe she just wasn’t comfortable in the strapless gown?
Is this year’s “shoulder injury” 2018’s “heart attack”? I don’t blame her for skipping the tiara, but maybe her father didn’t offer either.
Lol. Probably not far from the truth. He may not have been invited. Based on things I’ve read from his divorce settlements- he’s asset rich and cash poor. He probably didn’t offer to help pay for the wedding and wanted cash from the new husband instead.
Yup. He’s pulled a half Thomas Markle. The difference is he is avoiding the media on this one. Bad Dad Markle moved the media into his home and printed up phony medical papers for his heart attack claim.
Word was her mother skipped it too? Wonder what the tea on all of it is.
No, Victoria was there. One of the other daughters posted about it on social media
This is the rich people’s code for the « I’m against this marriage ». I honestly understand the dad. Imagine marrying your daughter to someone older than you. As for the groom, even his kids are older than her. Imagine having kids with someone who’s in his 60s. That being said I’m sure harry would have been if it wasn’t for COVID, he always appeared to be closer to his mom’s side than William
Yeah, I am sure Charles Spencer is no sweetheart, but I would not be jumping to support my young daughter marrying a 62-year-old man either. Michael Lewis made his money in fast fashion / cheap chain stores, meaning exploiting the labor of people of color. It’s understandable if Charles doesn’t view that as a particularly honorable or esteemed profession. The Spencers aren’t poor and their children don’t need to marry megabucks to save the family estate or anything. Still, he’s not publicizing his disapproval or trying to embarrass them, he’s just staying quiet and offering a halfway plausible excuse to avoid gossip as much as possible.
Isn’t that money all going to Louis the heir? He might leave some for his kids but Kitty has 5 other siblings (6 including Louis) with their fingers in that pie so she might not get much. Plus with the 40% inheritance tax and the money needed by their heir to keep the lights on in the estate, he might not be able to literally give her much. And she seems to enjoy a certain lifestyle so she probably knows that no matter what she gets, it won’t be able to maintain it. Hence her rich husband.
But her younger sister who’s engaged doesn’t seem to be marrying into major money so what do I know.
I highly HIGHLY doubt that Charles Spencer is concerned in any way with the well-being of workers of color. A week before Harry and Meghan’s wedding he tweeted a picture of a cake decoration at a display at Althorp of Harry with Meghan next to him and in front of Meghan is a bowl of watermelon. And his tweet was left up after a ton of people pointed it out in the comments.
I just don’t understand: surely she enjoys at least the same status as Pippa? She might not be as royalty-adjacent (or is she? cousin vs. sister-in-law?), but she has the name and the pedigree in her own right, which Pippa doesn’t? I mean, I’ve no idea how posh people rate such things, but if Pippa could find a rich and YOUNG dude, surely so could Kitty?
I know someone who suffered a horrific shoulder injury right before their kid’s wedding. They still went.
That blue dress is so beautiful, I hate that it’s D&G.
Whenever I see a photo of the back of a wedding dress spread out in that circle, my first though is always “that looks like an enormous tablecloth.”
I don’t know about her personally, but she is very pretty and the dresses are gorgeous.
i think i like her.
her vibe seems to me to be glam influencer meets a little philanthropy on the side, and she doesn’t seem too aloof.
she could be a huge star if she wanted to, but i get the feeling she’s wary of courting too much attention (with good reason).
What’s the philanthropy part?
The wedding dress is beautiful and the blue dress is exquisite.
I haven’t see any pics of guests. All the pics I’ve seen are of Kitty and her dresses. It seems like she had an elaborate photo shoot moreso than an actual wedding.
I saw some pics of the guests. My God, the dresses were beyond tacky! You’d think people with all that money would have clothes that fit properly (ie: make sure it didn’t pinch out back fat, armpit rolls, creased seams etc).
Has her father tweeted about the wedding yet? Because up to yesterday there was nothing on twitter from him and he’s a person who tweets almost everyday. It’s clear that Kitty’s relationship with her father is strained and because of this she didn’t wear the Spencer tiara.
I feel like if her father wanted to be there, he would have been there, shoulder injury or not.
I was surprised at the lack of tiara, but maybe she didnt want to wear it due to bad vibes, or just thought it was overkill with the dress – she’s wearing some other absolutely gorgeous pieces so maybe she just thought “i’ll pass” with the tiara.
It’s his daughter’s wedding. If he wanted to be there he would. The 5 days isolation is not so bad (again, it’s his daughter’s wedding) and unless he’s bedridden, it won’t take much to pop in, give your congrats and pop out (if it’s that bad). Or at least give a public tweet about it.
According to the DM (so massive grain of salt here), their relationship has “cooled off” since he married his 3rd wife and it was “better for everyone” that he wasn’t there.
Edit: as for why her cousins didn’t show, one is much further away from Italy and has a newborn at home and so his family might not want to travel to Italy to attend a 3 day wedding. The other might not have wanted to come or couldn’t come for whatever reason. Is William even that close to his Spencer cousins? I never got that vibe.
I’m not even sure William and Kate would have been invited. And if they were….I can’t imagine Kate going to a wedding like this. I was looking at some of the other guest pics yesterday and there is definitely a fashion vibe and a cool society vibe that seems different from the “normal” british aristo weddings that we see her attend.
But who knows, maybe Kate has a closet full of gorgeous evening gowns for weddings like this that we just never see bc the evening reception pics are usually private (like we have no idea what she wore for H&M’s evening reception, or Pippa’s, etc.)
I’m sure they were invited even if both parties knew W&K weren’t coming. I’ve been invited to weddings even when the people inviting me knew I wouldn’t/couldn’t come. But maybe it’s just a thing in my culture.
And you’re right that this wasn’t a typical aristo wedding but more of a glam luxe fashion wedding so maybe W&K would feel out of their element here.
This shoulder injury smells a lot like Princess Charlene’s sinus troubles as far as excuses not to travel go.
And this lady is thirsty, there is no way she turned down the Spencer tiara. Her dad is a jerk, he wouldn’t let Diana stay at Althorp after her divorce.
Oh come on, she didn’t “choose not to” wear that tiara. It wasn’t on her head b/c her father wasn’t there and he owns it. No father, no tiara.
Exactly.
Kitty & Michael even did the balcony kiss scene, like a royal wedding.🙄
You bet she would have grabbed that tiara with BOTH HANDS if she got the chance,
Imagine the magazine covers with her wearing the famous Spencer tiara, while merching for D & G at the same time.😉
In the first pic it looks like her father is walking her into the church….
(I’m being snide just to be clear)
Maybe she’s saving the tiara for marriage number 2?
Wow, Charlene’s doctor is working overtime. He’s writing “excused absence” notes left and right.
Come on, Charles Spencer doesn’t have the moral capital to pull off this pettiness. He has seven kids with three different women. Back injury, sure 😑
His shoulders were removed and grafted onto her shoulders, that’s why her puff sleeves are so big.
I love her wedding dress so much (minus the visible brassiere), but it’s so intricate I feel that it wouldn’t have paired well with the Spencer Tiara. The styles are so different. While I generally caution against big age differences, clearly she seems happy with this man and he’s pretty good looking for his age. They both seem happy. The Earl Spencer has mellowed out over the years, but I get the feeling he was a real pill for a while, and probably not a good husband and father, hence his absence.
Diana’s gown had those ENORMOUS puffy shepherdess shoulders. Kitty could’ve pulled it off with that dress… IF she wanted it *AND* her father *LET* her wear it.
Honestly, given the amount of time and work that went into getting each and every single one of those gowns made, plus the enormous amounts of details that had to be attended to for each look (all of which were likely planned and practiced and rehearsed weeks if not months in advance), it’s pretty clear that every single element of it was designed with the full knowledge of the fact that she would definitely not be wearing the Spencer tiara for her wedding. If there was even an inkling of a doubt, the looks would have been quite different, and I doubt D&G would have designed her dresses for her.
No one cares if you don’t like your son in law. Grow up, put on the clothes they tell you to, and walk your daughter down the aisle. Not showing up is such a ‘look at me move’ for either parent of the bride.
Eat the rich, etc but those GOWNS. I want more soft-core shots of people basting things on her!
I think the groom looks pretty good for 62. I’m in my early thirties and I’d hit it, especially if it came with a billion dollars. Good for them. But also, eat the rich.
Man, she’s in it for the money and lifestyle as much as or more than anything, and, from your comment, you’d be too.
You made me laugh, you did.
The blue dress is pretty but it reminds me of a set of bedsheets I have.
Okay, from all of this, what I think might be a logical explanation for why her father, William and Harry skipped out + no tiara is just that home girl wanted to be the center of attention on her big day, without any of the subsequent drama of the Princess Diana/Spencer family/BRF connection hanging over it. All of that likely would have brought more eyes on her wedding, and I think she really wanted to keep all of that family drama discussion away, especially considering she’s marrying a man more than twice her age, and five years older than her father. It would have prompted people to ask questions/speculate about why that is, and possibly rehash some family sh-t that she likely just doesn’t want to talk about.
How would it have looked exactly for a 30 year old woman to have her father walking her down the aisle to marry a husband who’s older than him? What sort of questions would that have invited? It would have swung the focus of the wedding away from what I imagine she wanted it to be about, which is her getting to wear some fabulous couture gowns and repping D&G as their brand ambassador.
This seems like a huge reach to bend over backward to ignore the obvious signs.
Harry didn’t attend because of pandemic. William didn’t attend because of pandemic or they’re not close. No big deal.
The drama is that Dad didn’t have to walk her down the aisle but he chose not to even attend the wedding at all or acknowledge it. There is no way Kitty, an influencer whose entire “career” depends on her passing resemblance to Diana and being a Spencer, would choose to disassociate from the Spencer brand. She’s the only Spencer woman to not wear it and her dad chose not to attend the wedding. That’s plainly pointing to some feud or them not being close. Dad probably refused her permission.
There’s a difference between wanting the sort of publicity that would keep D&G, the sponsors of her wedding, front and center, and the sort that would distract from them by getting her private life splashed in the tabloids. Not all attention is good attention, even as far as influencers go, although that’s a fairly common misconception.
The overall focus of her wedding, overwhelmingly, has been on D&G and the clothes. She got enough press attention without the tabs having to wax sorrowfully about how she’s wearing the tiara that was made famous by her dead aunt. Not having any of that to clutter up the column space meant that D&G got most of the attention for their designs. So, while I don’t doubt that she’s probably not really on speaking terms with her father at the moment, I don’t think she’s sobbing into her D&G rags about the fact that she couldn’t cash in all the way on the Diana connection and the Spencer family name. I think the absence of any potential distractions from her being front and center probably was a relief.
I know we’re all side eyeing the marriage but 62 isn’t “elderly”.
@songs. Thank you! I’m 62 and I think 30+ years between them is ridiculous. However he’s not in his dotage FFS
I mentioned this the other day, my sister at 25 married a 50yo man. She was 55 in June, he will be 80 in October. Her life now is heart murmurs, prostate problems, special diets, tons of medication and no stairs. He was gorgeous and rich and they had a great 30 years, but now and in the future, she’s basically his nurse/chauffeur, making multiple trips to specialists and working full time.
I wonder if someone thought that Lewis was the father of the bride instead of the groom. Also, his children must be mortified.
If Charles had wanted to be there (or perhaps he wasn’t invited?) he could have been. Rich people have been paying themselves out of quarantine all year. Rich people also have access to the best medical care. He could’ve been shot up with the best drugs and travelled with a private nurse.
He also hasn’t posted any congratulatory messages on Instagram or elsewhere.
So I think everything points to he didn’t approve, and either refused to go or was not welcome.
That’s a lot of dresses for one ceremony. Did she do the vows in the lace gown, is the blue a reception dress, what about the Victorian gown with the floral trim? Where did she wear that? A tiara might have been too much with those opulent gowns but surely she had her reasons for not wearing it. I actually think the groom looks very handsome and love his look with the white suit with black shoes and bow tie.
She’s gorgeous, her husband looks very handsome, and they both look completely happy.
I mean, he ~is~ older than her dad, but she’s 30, so she’s adult enough to understand what she’s getting into, and he’s young enough to.