charles spencer lady kitty© Photo: Getty Images

Charles Spencer didn't walk daughter Kitty down the aisle - this is why

Lady Kitty Spencer tied the knot on Saturday evening

Senior Online Writer
July 25, 2021

There was another fabulous and star-studded royal wedding on Saturday – and this one was held in Rome, with Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer tying the knot with her new husband, Michael Lewis.

The ceremony took place in front of guests who included Lady Kitty's friends singer Pixie Lott and Made in Chelsea star Mark Francis Vandelli.

MORE: Did Prince William and Kate Middleton attend Lady Kitty Spencer's wedding?

One departure from tradition, however, was that her father, Charles Spencer, did not walk his daughter down the aisle.

Instead, she was accompanied by two of her brothers: Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Samuel Aitken.

WATCH: Charles Spencer reveals magnificent garden at Althorp House

It is believed that the happy couple got engaged in 2019 but were not able to marry sooner due to the pandemic.

READ: Why bride Lady Kitty Spencer didn't wear Princess Diana's wedding tiara

MORE: Lady Kitty Spencer's stunning Princess-style wedding dress revealed - plus FOUR other gowns

While the reason the Earl did not walk Kitty down the aisle hasn't been made public, he did reveal last month in an interview with MSN that he was suffering from a painful shoulder injury which was affecting his freedom of movement.

© Photo: Getty Images

Charles Spencer and Victoria with their eldest daughter, Lady Kitty, in 1991

The 57-year-old, who had hoped to accompany divers on an expedition that would have looked for evidence from the sinking of The White Ship, the subject of his bestselling book, shared that his doctor advised him not to undertake the dive.

He said: "It sounds like a pretty feeble excuse but is really quite painful and unpleasant. I asked my doctor ‘can I dive?’ and he said, 'only if you want to drown'. I decided that would be taking the authenticity of the adventure too far."

No doubt his children were delighted that he chose not to take the risky trip!

Charles is a proud father-of-seven, including Lady Kitty, 30, twins Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, 29, who recently relocated to London from South Africa, and 27-year-old Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, his heir to the Earldom.

© Photo: Getty Images

Lady Kitty tied the knot in Rome on Saturday

Charles shares his eldest children with his former wife, Victoria Aitken, and Samuel is Kitty's half-brother on her mother's side.

 He went on to marry and have two children with Caroline Freud – the Honorable Edmund Spencer and Lady Lara Spencer.

Charles and Caroline separated in 2007 and later divorced.

He is currently married to his third wife, Karen Gordon, with whom he shares a daughter, Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer.

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