And the bride (and almost everyone else) wore Dolce and Gabbana
Diana’s niece Kitty, 30, weds millionaire aged 62 in a sumptuous It alian palazzo
IN A love match to rival the fairytale setting of a grand Italian villa, Lady Kitty Spencer yesterday married fashion tycoon Michael Lewis in a lavish ceremony in front of their highsociety friends and family.
As the searing summer heat began to ease at 6pm, Princess Diana’s niece said ‘I do’ in front of a hushed congregation in the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, a stunning country mansion with views towards Rome.
The wedding, attended by a host of celebrities and aristocrats, was the climax of a party weekend which began in the Italian capital on Friday night.
The couple were joined by Lady Kitty’s sisters, twins Eliza and Amelia; Viscountess Emma Weymouth and her husband Ceawlin Thynn, the Marquess of Bath; pop star Pixie Lott and her model boyfriend Oliver Cheshire; Idris Elba’s wife Sabrina; and Made In Chelsea star Mark Vandelli.
Also present were 62-year-old Mr Lewis’s three adult children from a previous marriage. Lady Kitty, 30 – the eldest child of Diana’s brother Earl Spencer – is understood to have formed strong relationships with her South African-born husband’s children.
In keeping with the Italian theme, fashion house Dolce and Gabbana played a key role. Several guests, including Viscountess Weymouth, socialite and DJ Marjorie Gubelmann and fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper wore the designers’ dresses.
Before the ceremony, Viscountess Weymouth and Ms Gubelmann posted on Instagram that their outfits were made by the Italian duo, while Ms Holland Cooper flaunted a small D & G handbag on the social media site.
It is understood that Lady Kitty’s wedding gown was also made by the label. Earlier this year she was appointed a global ambassador for the brand and said: ‘When I wear their pieces, I feel their passion and I feel like the best version of myself.’
She may have also opted to wear the Spencer tiara, a headpiece of diamonds in a floral design of tulips and star-shaped flowers, which her aunt wore for her wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 28, 1981. It is not known if Earl Spencer attended the wedding, but on Friday – when the rehearsal took place – he posted a picture on his Instagram account of the gardens at his Althorp estate.
After the ceremony, Lady Kitty and Mr Lewis treated guests to a feast and dancing. Fireworks were also expected.
The wedding followed several days of fun. On Friday evening the couple hosted a dinner at
the Galleria Del Cardinale restaurant in a Baroque palace in central Rome, where guests dined on traditional delicacies including beef broth-filled ravioli, Sardinian fregola pasta and a choice of tiramisu and caprese cake.
Earlier in the week, Lady Kitty threw a hen party for her closest friends in Florence. The following night she posted on Instagram a photograph of the group wearing brightly coloured wigs.
Later in the evening she posed at the city’s Piazza del Duomo wearing a striking black and white polka dot dress and next to a £1,700 Dolce and Gabbana handbag.
In the hours before the wedding, Lady Kitty’s friends were spotted enjoying the sights of Rome and its restaurants. Wearing oversized sunglasses, Ms Lott and Viscountess Weymouth strolled near the Spanish Steps, before stopping off for lunch with Mr Vandelli and his partner Piotr Krzymowski. They were later taken by limousine to the wedding venue.
The Mail on Sunday first revealed Lady Kitty’s relationship with Mr Lewis – who owns the high street fashion chains Whistles and Phase Eight – in August 2018.
They were pictured together at the five-star Mark Hotel in New York nine months later. Mr Lewis proposed in December 2019. Lady Kitty, who like her mother Victoria Lockwood was a fashion model, is thought to have met her husband – a philanthropist who has donated millions to Oxford University – through a mutual friend, former Defence Secretary Liam Fox.