In the last year of her life, Princess Diana was actually fighting with her brother Charles, the Earl Spencer. It was mostly brother-sister stuff, and I don’t doubt that the Earl Spencer was genuinely devastated when Diana died. But we’ll always remember that moment at Westminster, when he shaded the f–k out of the royals during his perfect eulogy. The Earl Spencer’s personal life has always been a bit chaotic – he’s on his third marriage, and he has eight children among them.
Lady Kitty Spencer is one of those children – Lady Kitty is the oldest of his children at the age of 28, and she’s obviously the “niece of Princess Diana” and cousin to Prince Harry and William. Personally, I don’t think William and Harry are particularly close to the Spencer family, but Harry still invited some of his Spencer cousins to his wedding last year. Which led to this – Lady Kitty getting the new digital cover of Harper’s Bazaar, where she talks about her “sudden fame” for… attending her cousin’s wedding. I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell you what she looked like before today. Some highlights from the digital cover feature:
Princess Diana’s makeup artist Mary Greenwell on the similarity between Diana and Kitty: “Diana was so willing and open—as is Victoria, and as is Kitty. Just sort of free—there’s a sense of freedom with all of them. I think the sense of freedom is actually very important, that then they didn’t feel stifled by their upbringing and their circumstances.”
On the sudden influx of attention she received after the royal wedding: “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…Can I still FaceTime my cat and put it on my Stories?”
On growing up in South Africa: “I’m really glad I had a childhood in South Africa. There are not many places in the world where you can actually have something that’s so free, just natural and relaxed. I was lucky to have a childhood there.”
On suffering from a degree of imposter syndrome: “I do feel like I sort of snuck through the back door and no one’s noticed yet. That’s the feeling I get, especially at shows. I keep thinking that this is potentially short term and a really exciting moment, so I’m trying to embrace it for what it is. And then when it does end, just being grateful because it was something I never imagined in the first place.”
On not trying to change her body to fit the typical model standards: “I guess I’m doing these things on my own terms. I don’t think it’s my job to starve to fit into an outfit. If I’ve agreed to do something for a brand or whatever, I look after myself but I’m not obsessive or unhealthy. If a brand wants to work with me, and think their designs look good on me, then they can give them to me in my size.”
On her taste in men: “I’ve been really lucky. I’ve always had really lovely, straightforward boyfriends. Whenever anything exciting happens in my life, or sad, the serious boyfriends I’ve had will be the first to get in touch and the first to be supportive. I don’t see the appeal of going for anyone who’s too complicated or not trustworthy…The men that I’ve been with have been kind and still are. And it’s lovely because it’s like a greater form of friendship in a way.”
I looked up Kitty’s wiki page and she only began modeling when she was 25 years old! Which is… not how most nepotism models do it, but whatever. She’s hustling and I’m sure someone is buying it, and people really do want any kind of “connection” to Diana. Personally, I don’t think she looks much like Diana, nor does she have Diana’s spark, that watchable X-factor that makes for a good princess, model or celebrity. Kitty is just a blonde from a famous family who fell into modeling in her mid-20s because – I would argue – there wasn’t anything else for her to do.
Photos courtesy of Alex Bramall for Harper’s Bazaar, sent from promotional Bazaar email.
She is beautiful, inside and out.
“Just sort of free—there’s a sense of freedom with all of them” I’d feel pretty free too if I grew up rich and didn’t have to worry about finding a job/paycheck.
Also the comment Kitty herself makes on growing up in South Africa: “There are not many places in the world where you can actually have something that’s so free, just natural and relaxed. I was lucky to have a childhood there.”… There are not many people who are able to call a childhood in SA in the 90s free and relaxed. It is an incredible and beautiful country but she is clearly out of touch. That being said, what else do we expect?
I thought her comments were a bit tasteless- didn’t her mum have a serious eating disorder? She was also a model.
God, I’m old, remembering all this!
She did, maybe still does. I think Victoria was even hospitalized once or twice. I think Lady Kitty is pretty, but if she were Katie McDonald from Kokomo, I doubt she’d have the ‘bring me clothes in my size’ attitude. Or if she did, she’d never get anywhere; skinny model is still the norm.
I don’t understand how her saying she eats healthfully and doesn’t try to starve to fit into sample sizes is tasteless. To me it seems very healthy and a good example. She’s not dissing anyone, just saying she isn’t sucked into the unhealthy starving for a model figure that often comes with the job. I say brava to her.
It’s tasteless in the same way that Kendall Jenner’s comments about being picky about her jobs was tasteless: 99 percent of models don’t have the the luxury to be overly choosy about what jobs they take, or how much they weigh. Listening to an insanely wealthy, well-connected woman make a such a blithely entitled statement (and frame it, like Jenner, as a virtue!) is–ironically–a true “let them eat cake” moment.
Of course, we’re also talking about a lady who gushes over her “free, natural, and relaxed” South African childhood, so, uh, awareness of other people’s suffering might not be a strong point.
Not many people could ever pull of those clothes but she did and she looks fantastic in them. Wow.
She was out here in Australia for several months a few years ago. If I recall correctly she was working, and socialising, obviously. I remember seeing photos of her in bikinis on the beach, having fun like anyone on a beautiful beach in Summer in Australia would do. She looked fantastic, if a little pink – curvy, womanly, relaxed, happy and healthy. Evidently, she was having a thing with a (single) good-looking weatherman-TV presenter. He is said to be a very nice person, and I’d hoped she’d stay here or he’d go to England with her. Alas. It didn’t last. I like her.
She lost a lot of weight and had work done on her face, particularly her nose and lips. I remember her from William’s wedding and she looks different – not like she bought herself a new face a la Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner, but more like “I improved my features”.
I seem to recall she used to carry quite a lot more weight. And I don’t think she got ‘discovered’ with the wedding. She’s shown up in the gossip mags for quite a while–she’s a tall, pretty blonde, the niece of the late Diana & the daughter of an earl. She will have always gotten press,
I think she looks like her mom.
She and her sister were beautiful at the weddings and yes, she was heavier then.
When you think of the poverty that most black South Africans live in, it really comes off as tone-deaf as a white English woman to talk about your glorious South African childhood.
From what I understand, she has been quite involved in several charities for years, not just since the wedding. She is quite a lovely girl and I don’t see that she is necessarily using her connection to Diana as much as people are trying to thrust it upon her.
It seems like most models, nowadays, are getting work based on nepotism, so I don’t see how Kitty stands out from the rest of them.
Is that a wonky eye? Screw “improving” your looks, take care of your eyes, woman!
Her eyes are completely blank.
Must have been fun growing up in South Africa, being free and WHITE. What a tactless remark.
And as far as Charles Spencer is concerned – he was a lot keener on his sister after she died, and he could make money off her memory, than than he was in helping her when she was alive. Then didn’t treat his own wife any better. Hypocrite.
I came here to say the same thing. JFC. I hope someone calls her out on it.
I’ve never heard South Africa described as “free” lol. Makes her sound thoughtless.
She might not be Diana but she’s still a Spencer and from Georgina to Diana, the Spencer women tend to be remarkable.