Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994), is a British aristocrat and eldest son and heir-apparent 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 ...

. He is the nephew 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, ...

, and the first cousin of

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

and

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex 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 t ...

Early life and education

He was born at

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London, the fourth child and eldest son of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Victoria Lockwood. A nephew of

, and a first cousin of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and

, he is the

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 Spencer earldom. A year after he was born, his family moved to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in South Africa, where he grew up. Lord Althorp was a pupil at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

in Cape Town, and later enrolled at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He graduated from

Arts Educational Schools Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school in Chiswick, West London, England. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in musical theatre an ...

in London, on 6 September 2022, as the valedictorian.

Viscount Althorp

English

male primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

law dictates that Lord Althorp, not his elder sister,

Lady Kitty Spencer Lady Kitty Eleanor Lewis (née Spencer; born 28 December 1990) is a British model and aristocrat. She is the eldest child of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, niece of Diana, Princess of Wales and the first cousin of William, Prince of Wales an ...

, who is her father's firstborn child, will inherit the Spencer title. Property is divisible separately, but most peers choose to keep property and title combined. As heir to the Spencer earldom, Louis Spencer is expected to inherit the estimated £100 million Althorp estate under the tradition of

, despite having three older sisters.

Career

As of 2025, he is an actor working under the professional name "Louis Lyons".

Personal life

In 2021, he participated in the wedding of his sister

by accompanying her down the aisle. He is currently represented by the Tavistock Wood talent agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Althorp, Louis Spencer, Viscount 1994 births Living people British courtesy viscounts

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town People educated at the Arts Educational Schools