Victoria Aitken

Catherine Victoria Lockwood was born in Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead,[1] She is daughter of John Lockwood, an airline executive,[2] and Jean Lockwood, née Holt. She is the sister of Christopher Lockwood, a journalist and later Deputy Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit from May 2013 to May 2015.[3]

On 16 September 1989, she married Charles Spencer, then Viscount Althorp, at the Church of St Mary, Great Brington. Her wedding dress of champagne French antique lace with Russian sable trim was designed by Tomasz Starzewski,[4] and she wore the Spencer Tiara.[5] Althorp's nephews Prince Harry and Alexander Fellowes were the pageboys at their wedding and his nieces Eleanor Fellowes and Emily McCorquodale were bridesmaids.[6] During her first 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 in 2021.[7]
• 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, in 2023.[8][9]
• Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994); heir apparent 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.[10] The couple moved with their four children to South Africa in 1995 to avoid the media.[11] After their divorce on 3 December 1997, Lord Spencer moved back to the United Kingdom, and subsequently remarried.[6]

In 2005, Victoria, Countess Spencer married South African businessman Jonathan Aitken; they divorced in 2009.[6] They have a son, Samuel Aitken (born 18 April 2003).