Catherine Victoria Aitken (''née'' Lockwood; born 20 April 1965), formerly Victoria, Countess Spencer, is a British former

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

and former wife of

Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, (born 20 May 1964), styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peerage of the United Kingdom, peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Prin ...

, the younger brother of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

Marriages and family

Catherine Victoria Lockwood was born in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

, the daughter of John Lockwood, an airline executive, and Jean Lockwood, Holt. Her brother Christopher Lockwood is a journalist and was Deputy Head of the

Number 10 Policy Unit The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone ...

from May 2013 to May 2015. On 16 September 1989, she married Charles Spencer, then Viscount Althorp, at the Church of St Mary,

Great Brington Great Brington is a village in Northamptonshire, England, in the civil parish of Brington, which at the 2011 Census had a population of about 200. St Mary the Virgin church is the parish church. The village's name means 'Farm/settlement con ...

. Her wedding dress of champagne French antique lace with Russian

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

trim was designed by Tomasz Starzewski, and she wore the Spencer Tiara. Althorp's nephews

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

and Alexander Fellowes were the pageboys at their wedding and his nieces Eleanor Fellowes and Emily McCorquodale were bridesmaids. During their marriage, she was known as Viscountess Althorp and later as Countess Spencer. They have four children: * Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer (born 28 December 1990); married

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. ...

in 2021. They have one daughter, Athena. *Lady Eliza Victoria Spencer (born 10 July 1992) *Lady Katya Amelia Spencer (born 10 July 1992); married Greg Mallett, nephew of former South African national rugby coach

Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was th ...

, in 2023. * Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994);

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the earldom. She suffered from eating disorders and drug and alcohol abuse during her first marriage. It was alleged that the earl had an extra-marital affair with a journalist early in the marriage. The couple moved with their four children to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1995 to avoid the media. After their divorce on 3 December 1997, Lord Spencer moved back to the United Kingdom, and subsequently remarried. In 2005, Victoria, Countess Spencer married South African businessman Jonathan Aitken; they divorced in 2009. They have a son, Samuel Aitken (born 18 April 2003), who is a model.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Victoria 1965 births

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Spencer British female models Living people British expatriates in South Africa Royalty and nobility models