The model talks Lena Dunham, her personal style, and memories of her famous aunt.
Given her title, given that her father currently lives on a 13,000-acre estate, and given that she is Princess Diana’s niece, it would be fair to assume Lady Kitty Spencer would, in conversation, have the air of, well, a royal—overly cautious with his or her words, perhaps somewhat disconnected from reality. Spencer is the oldest of the four children Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, the Ninth Earl Spencer, had with Victoria Lockwood, a British former fashion model. (Charles Spencer has re-married twice, since his split from Lockwood, and has had three additional children.) When Charles dies, the Althorp estate where he currently lives will pass on to Kitty’s younger brother, Louis, due to the British primogeniture bylaws that mandate the property be bequeathed to a male heir (yes, this triggered flashbacks to high-school Jane Austen reading for us, as well).
But, in fact, when actually chatting with Kitty Spencer, the conversation is less focused on society charity balls and countryside polo matches, and instead on . . . more conventional 25-year-old pursuits. It feels almost like conversing with a co-worker’s cheery friend, whom you might end up sitting next to at a birthday dinner. She loves Lena Dunham (she read Not That Kind of Girl in one day), and says she is “blown away by her honest attitude to everything”; she thinks she knows “every word to every episode of Friends”: and she is a major House of Cards fan. She’s currently planning a trip to Barcelona with some friends to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And she greatly enjoys Instagram (“I always find it a very positive thing,” she says), posting regularly—a mixture of memes, scenic shots, and amusing glimpses into her daily life (you’re as likely to see a fascinator as you are a familiar croissant-and-coffee shot).
A few days after our interview, I see a meme in my Instagram feed of Bill and Hillary Clinton gleefully playing with the balloons at the D.N.C. convention (“I just want someone who looks at me the same way Bill & Hillary look at balloons,” it reads). I double-tap impulsively, assuming it was posted by a college friend or co-worker; I scroll back up to learn the meme was, in fact, posted by Lady Kitty Spencer, daughter of the Earl Spencer, and niece of the Princess of Wales.
Here we have Diana, 20 years old at the time, at a photo call with Charles on the Balmoral Estate. While you would not necessarily think the separate components of this outfit—prominent rainboots, green pants, semi-cacophonous pink sweater—would harmonize, Diana pulls it off with ease.
Sheep! This sweater is covered in sheep and it’s made of wool . . . which is like if pieces of bacon were cut out in the shape of pigs, sort of? Same idea? Regardless, this is an almost hypnotically strong look.
A sporty and patriotic princess. Perhaps Kate will be inspired to wear something similar when she makes her inaugural visit to New York next month.
Immediately rendering any workout outfit you’ve ever attempted silly and overwrought.
Here, in 1988, with William, Diana makes the tricky sports-jacket/baseball-hat/jeans look, favored by try-hard dads worldwide, look positively elegant.
A koala sweater has never looked—and will likely never look again—so dorm-room-poster–esque.
Here she is arriving at an airport with William and Harry—dressed identically, it should be noted—in 1986. Wait, we’re sorry, this sweater is great, but William and Harry are dressed identically (also, Harry’s expression merits an 100 on the VanityFair.com Adorability Index).
To look this chic while fishing!!! Can you even imagine?!
With Harry on her back in 1987. This looks like the kind of sweater you find in your closet when you’re an adult and you can’t quite remember where or when you got it, but you just know you’ve always had it, and that you always will have it.
This look renders us near speechless. That perfectly placed belt! That feathered hair! That zany-yet-somehow-sophisticated sweater pattern! On point.