Princess Diana was known for being a loving mother to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and it would appear that this is a trait that has continued in her niece Kitty Spencer. Kitty, 33, is the eldest child of Princess Diana’s brother Earl Charles Spencer. She has been married to the business tycoon Michael Lewis for three years, and recently shared the happy news that they have had a baby together.
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Kitty shared photos of her and her baby on Instagram to floods of supportive comments, but some have been quick to point out that she and her husband have a 32-year age difference. Let’s take a look at her announcement and their relationship.
Kitty Spencer’s Mother’s Day announcement
Kitty, who works as a model, posted a series of beach snaps of her holding the baby, with the caption:
It's the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally. Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate today.
Several supportive messages have been posted under the snap, including one from her sister Amelia Spencer, who wrote: 'The most perfect angel in the world'. Kitty hadn’t publicly announced she was pregnant so the news came as a surprise to many, and she didn’t reveal the gender or name of her first child. Once commonly seen out and about in London society, she had taken a hiatus with her last girls’ night dating back to October 2023.
Kitty - whose good looks have often been compared to those of Princess Diana’s - looked stunning in a white swimsuit in one of the pictures where she is holding her child in her arms. The model has previously established herself in the fashion world as a spokesmodel for Dolce & Gabbana. The brand even supplied five dresses for her wedding to Michael Lewis.
Kitty Spencer and Michael Lewis’ marriage
At the time of her announcement, Kitty is 33 and her multi-millionaire husband is 65. Michael Lewis is from South Africa, where Kitty was also raised until she was seven. After her father, who has now been married three times, and her mother’s divorce, Kitty split her time between Cape Town and the UK.
The pair met through mutual friends in 2018, and got married at a lavish wedding in Italy in 2021. The celebrations had been delayed due to Covid, so the couple really went all-out with a 3-day star-studded bash. However, Kitty’s father was notably absent. Although the Earl’s health was assumed to be the reason for this, some speculated that it could also have been due to his relationship with his daughter cooling off over his third marriage.
Other royals with surprising age differences
Though the age difference between Kitty Spencer and Michael Lewis is significant, Kitty isn't the only royal who married someone that is older or younger than herself.
Her own aunt, Princess Diana, married then-Prince Charles who was 12 years older than she was. At the time of their iconic wedding, Lady Diana Spencer was 20 and Prince Charles was 32.
According to The Telegraph, a young King Charles met Lady Diana when she was just 16, at Althorp, the Spencer's ancestral residence. That was in 1977. It happened that then-Prince Charles was 'a member of a shooting party as a guest' of Lady Diana's sister, Lady Sarah. In 1980, Lady Diana spent a week in Balmoral and in February 1981, the couple's engagement was announced by Buckingham Palace.
Moreover, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip also have a few years between them. Indeed, Philip Mountbatten was 5 years older than Queen Elizabeth. According to the Royal Family website, the two officially met for the first time in 1934, 'at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark to Prince George, Duke of Kent.' The two were respectively 8 and 13.
According to Vogue, the two properly met later on, in 1939, at the Britannia Royal Naval College. The then thirteen-year-old and the eighteen-year-old cadet reportedly started exchanging letters and the story says that Queen Elizabeth never 'thought of anybody else'. Only when he returned from the Pacific theater in 1946 did their relationship really develop. They married the following year. They were 21 and 26.
On the contrary, some royals have married people who are the same age as them. That is the case for Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson who were born in 1960 and 1959. According to The Independent, these two met when they were children but they only reconnected as adults in 1985 at Royal Ascot. They married in 1986 and welcomed two daughters. Though they have been separated since the 1990s, the two are still very close and even still live together.
Read more:
⋙ Charles Spencer shares photo of young Princess Diana in a new Instagram post
⋙ Lady Diana: Unexpected claims about King Charles' first wife and Prince Andrew made by royal author
⋙ Princess Diana: This little boy believes he is a reincarnation of the beloved royal
Sources used:
Daily Mail: Who are Lady Kitty Spencer and her tycoon husband Michael Lewis? Princess Diana's niece had THE society wedding of 2021
Daily Mail: Princess Diana's niece Kitty Spencer, 33, reveals she's welcomed her first child with husband Michael Lewis, 65
The Telegraph: Princess Diana: What happened on the night of her death?
Royal Family Website - 70 facts about The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's Wedding
Vogue: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth: Their Love Story in 30 Photos
The Independent: The extraordinary history of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew’s relationship
Business Insider: The surprising age differences between royal couples
