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 promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

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 peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the mate ...

, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Marriages and family

Catherine Victoria Lockwood is the daughter of John Lockwood, an airline executive, and Jean Lockwood, Holt. 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's church is the parish church. The villages name means 'Farm/settlement con ...

. Her wedding dress of champagne French antique lace with Russian sable trim was designed by

Tomasz Starzewski Tomasz Starzewski (born 13 August 1961) is a British fashion and interior designer. The son of Polish parents who were given political asylum in 1947 in the UK, he came to attention when the late Princess of Wales, Baroness Thatcher, Duchess of ...

, 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. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

and Alexander Fellowes were the pageboys at their wedding and his nieces Eleanor Fellowes and Emily McCorquodale were bridesmaids. 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) *Lady Eliza Victoria Spencer (born 10 July 1992) *Lady Katya Amelia Spencer (born 10 July 1992) * Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994);

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

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. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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). She is the sister of Christopher Lockwood, a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and later 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 British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit the ...

from May 2013 to May 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Victoria 1965 births

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Spencer British female models Living people British expatriates in South Africa