Why didn’t Earl Spencer attend Lady Amelia’s wedding? A look at his relationship with Diana’s nieces

Most brides look forward to their wedding day - tying the knot with their love, celebrating while cutting the cake and having your father give you away after walking you down the aisle.

For Lady Amelia Spencer, who married her long-term love Greg Mallett in Cape Town, South Africa last weekend, it is believed her father Earl Charles Spencer was notably absent from the proceedings at the exclusive La Cotte Farm.

The reports come as Earl Spencer tweeted a photo from the family’s estate in Althorp, some 8,250 miles away from Cape Town, on the morning of Lady Amelia’s wedding, stating: “Early morning March light at Althorp’s Round Oval lake.”

The absence of Princess Diana’s younger brother echoes that of his eldest daughter Lady Kitty’s Italian wedding to retail millionaire Michael Lewis in July 2021, when Charles Spencer not only failed to attend after suffering a shoulder injury but also tweeted a picture of the moon at Althorp during the festivities.

While the 2021 event sparked rumours that a rift had formed between Earl Spencer and his eldest three daughters who he shares with his first wife model Victoria Aitken, after Lady Kitty wrote on Instagram: “The proudest moment of my life, without a doubt, was having my brothers walk me down the aisle,” the father of seven’s non-appearance last weekend may speak volumes.

In light of this, PeopleWorld takes a look at Charles’ relationship with Lady Kitty and twins Lady Amelia and Eliza:

Earl Charles Spencer was married to his first wife Victoria Aitken (nee Lockwood) between 1989 and 1997 and decided to raise their four children away from the spotlight in Cape Town, making the move from London in 1995.

After the couple’s very public divorce following claims that Charles had cheated, Lady Amelia’s father moved back to the UK while Victoria and the children remained in South Africa.

Despite the distance, Lady Kitty told The Mail on Sunday that her father was very ‘hands on’ while they were growing up and was only ever a ‘phone call away’, as Lady Amelia spoke fondly of childhood memories visiting Althorp in Gloucestershire when speaking to Tatler.

Princess Diana’s brother remained loyal to his daughters as they grew up, echoing the family values mentioned in his infamous eulogy at Diana’s funeral in 1997, and was said to have paid for waterfront apartments for the twins and bought them each an Audi for their 18th birthdays.

Through Charles’ second marriage to school teacher Caroline Freud in 2001 and prompt divorce five years later when their daughter was just five months old, Lady Kitty and her sisters reportedly stood by their father’s side. 

Some claims suggest that Lady Kitty and her father were ‘thick as thieves’ while others hinted that cracks had started to show between the patriarch and his children as the siblings were ‘horrified’ at the speed in which their father ended the relationship.

However, relations were said to truly turn frosty when Charles met his third wife Karen Gordon who he married in 2011 in a private ceremony at Althorp.

An inside source told Mail Online at the time: “Kitty and Charles were very close when she was growing up, but their relationship has cooled and been more distant since his marriage to his third wife Karen in 2011.”

They added: "The four children are all close to their mother Victoria and get on well with their step siblings, and their Spencer aunts and have forged their own relationships with one another without needing Charles to bind them together."

Although Charles was said to have bought Amelia and Eliza Audis for their birthdays as mentioned above, Lady Kitty has previously suggested that her father was ‘strict’ with money and therefore has worked hard to become financially independent by building a successful modelling career and working for brands such as Dolce and Gabbana.

As well as being a brand ambassador for the luxury Italian fashion house, the label designed Lady Kitty’s wedding dress in July 2021.

Despite relations ‘cooling’ between the family members and Charles missing out on Kitty’s big day, he did in fact give his blessing following Amelia’s engagement to Greg Mallett in 2020 tweeting:

“So happy for my daughter, Amelia, engaged to her boyfriend of 11 years, Greg - it’s wonderful to hear them both so excited about their future. Sending them both love, and every good wish for their life together. I love that Greg asked my blessing before proposing. Very sweet."

So although Charles gave his approval vocally and not blessing the couple with his presence at their wedding, it might have been a ‘good thing’ say close friends, considering the family’s fractious relationship history.