Congratulations to Lady Kitty Spencer and her approx. 500 Dolce & Gabbana wedding gowns!

The royal-adjacent niece of Princess Diana tied the knot this weekend in Rome—and, given that we’re all done with major royal (first) marriages for this generation, it’s just the pomp and circumstance we need to tide us over to the 2030s? 2040s? (Or maybe never? You live your lives the way you want to, George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lili.)

 

Were you, like us, not among the B-list glitterati on the guest list (greetings, Idris Elba’s wife, Sabrina, and Elon Musk’s mom, Maye Musk)? Then come along for the highlights of what The Daily Mail is breathlessly calling “the society wedding of the year.” White tie only, please.

First: Who even is Lady Kitty Spencer?

Lady Kitty Spencer is William and Harry’s cousin. Her dad, Charles, a.k.a. Earl Spencer and doyen of Althorp estate, is Princess Diana’s younger brother. He’s the one who gave Diana’s blistering eulogy, in which he called out the Royal Family for their treatment of his sister.

Kitty’s upper crust credentials would have guaranteed her instant Tatler cover-star status, anyway, but Kitty’s resemblance to her sainted aunt has propelled her star even higher. See: The 30-year-old’s 500K Instagram followers, her modelling work as the face of Bvlgari, etc. Fun fact: Kitty mainly grew up in South Africa, where her model mom is from, since her parents divorced in 1997. Much less fun fact: Even though she’s the eldest child, good old primogeniture means that her little brother, Louis, will inherit the earldom. And finally—perhaps most importantly—she has a very cute Burmese cat named Baby D. (Not named for Diana, we assume? That’s definitely on the gauche side of referencing your famous relative if so.)

Who did Lady Kitty Spencer marry? 

Kitty made things official with fellow South African Michael Lewis, a billionaire 30 years her senior. For anyone raising a judgy eyebrow, Kitty has a few words, via a May interview with Town and Country. “It shouldn’t make a difference to anyone’s day,” she said of her love life. “Who I love or don’t love, or have a crush on or don’t have a crush on, or go on a date with, I don’t know why that should be what somebody reads over their cornflakes.” Unless, of course, you happen to be reading the 20-page spread of photographs that it seems inevitable will appear in, say, Hello! Magazine. All proceeds to charity, naturally.

Were William and Harry at Kitty’s wedding?

While Kitty’s breakout moment may have been as a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding—she went from 37,000 Instagram followers to nearly 500K almost the instant she was snapped there (that’s the power of a good fascinator…)—it appears that neither of her royal cousins returned the favour. According to The Mirror, Will and Kate had planned on going when it was scheduled for last year, but for some reason not explained by the tabloid, the delay to 2021 meant they RSVPed no.

Where was Kitty’s wedding?

Wedding weekend, you mean? The lavish three days of festivities took place in Rome, culminating in a sunset ceremony on Sunday at the Villa Aldobrandini, built in the 16th century and famed for its gardens. Kitty had her bachelorette in Florence last week, too, so safe to say we’ve got an Italophile on our hands.

Her wedding dress is beautiful! And also quite reminiscent of Kate’s?

Kitty wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana haute couture gown, one of five handmade D&G gowns she wore for her wedding. (She is their global ambassador, after all.) According to the Italian design duo, speaking to Tatler, Kitty got in touch practically the second she was engaged, and the gowns are all inspired both by her love of Italy and her English roots. “And like all the English people, she has a great passion for all kinds of flowers,” said Stefano Gabbana, not making a sweeping generalization at all (these two are known for that, and worse…). More than anything, Kitty’s long-sleeved, high-necked lace ceremony gown was inspired by the “Victorian” era, which, you know, spanned 70 years and about five quite distinctive style periods. All of which no doubt inspired Kate Middleton’s McQueen gown, too.

Where did Kitty’s four other dresses fit in?

Kitty seems to have changed at least twice during the reception. First, there was a blue tulle number, followed by an off-the-shoulder white silk. We know about at least two other dresses—a green velvet-bodice ball gown and a flower-encrusted gown—courtesy of a video shared by Dolce & Gabbana, but it’s not entirely clear when she wore those. Always good to have a backup, perhaps?

 

Did Kitty wear the Spencer tiara?

If you knew to ask this question, you probably didn’t need that backgrounder on Kitty earlier. For those not as informed, the Spencer tiara is famous for being the family piece that Diana wore when she married Prince Charles in 1981. And no, Kitty did not, perhaps because the last thing you want on your wedding day is another comparison to your aunt.

 

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