Meet Charles And Karen Spencer's Daughter Lady Charlotte
If Princess Diana were alive today, she would have a large family to dote on. Between Prince William and Princess Catherine's three children and Prince Harry's brood based in the United States, she would likely be pretty busy on the grandchildren front. On top of that, she would also have many nieces and nephews to spoil — one of whom carries her name.
Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer is the youngest daughter of Diana's only brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, and Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer. Born on July 30, 2012, Charlotte Diana is not to be confused with her younger cousin, Princess Charlotte, whose full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. While it may be unusual to share a name or two with one's second cousin, Lady Charlotte does not seem to mind. Shortly after the princess' name was announced, Charles Spencer tweeted, "Perfect names. My 2-year-old Charlotte Diana will be thrilled at cousinly name-sharing."
Of course, there is far more to Charlotte Spencer than the question of what's in a name. As a young aristocrat in an important British family, she has been faced with the task of constant learning. From soaking up the history at her family home to caring for farm animals, Charlotte has been busy becoming her best self.
Lady Charlotte Spencer lives at the historic Althorp House
Lady Charlotte Spencer shares far more than a name with Princess Diana. The young aristocrat is also being raised on the exact same property where her late aunt grew up. The historic Althorp House has been in the Spencer family for 19 generations and Charlotte now enjoys the same green lawns where her father, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, once played with the future princess.
Naturally, not everything about Althorp House is the same as it was when Diana and Charles were children. Back in the 1960s and '70s, the property was a place where the two kids felt isolated. According to royal biographer Andrew Morton in the documentary "Diana: The Curse of the Spencers" (via YouTube), their father "would occupy one wing of the house, leave Charles and Diana in the other wing. Diana and Charles were terrified of the dark."
These days though, Althorp House is a much more kid-friendly space. Charlotte's parents have gone way out of their way to make the house a fun place for her to grow up. "A lot of people are quite surprised when they come into the state dining room and find the bouncy castle," Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer, told People (via YouTube). "We've taken a view, my husband and I, that the house is really to be lived in."
Charlotte loves animals
There are many advantages to growing up in a beautiful property like Althorp House. For Lady Charlotte Spencer, one of the best parts of living on the estate seems to be spending time with many different kinds of animals.
According to her parents, Charlotte has a particular soft spot for horses and lambs. Her father, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, posted a video on Instagram showing the young aristocrat in her pajamas riding a horse around Althorp during an Easter egg hunt. Meanwhile, Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer, reports that her daughter has so much compassion for orphaned lambs that she actually managed to convince her parents to adopt a pair.
In an episode of the Spencer family YouTube series, Spencer 1508, Karen explained how the family came to own a duo of lambs called Lucky and Minty. "We live in the country, and there are lots of sheep, and sometimes the mothers don't make it. And there's always a wide availability of orphan lambs," the countess explained. "Our daughter, Charlotte, got the idea that we could possibly have two of our own. So, in the spring of 2021, Lucky and Minty came to us from one of the neighboring farmers when, sadly, their mother didn't make it." For a time, they wore diapers and lived with the Spencers inside Althorp House as pets. Eventually, however, they were moved outside to the dog kennels, where they were quite happy.
Lady Charlotte is half-Canadian
In many ways, Lady Charlotte Spencer's upbringing sounds like it comes right out of a quintessentially British novel. Country estate? Check. Horses? Check. Blood ties to actual princes and princesses? Check. Despite all this, however, Charlotte is not 100% British. Her mother, Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer, is a Canadian citizen who spent much of her life in Edmonton, Alberta. This makes Charlotte half-Canadian, and from what we can tell, the young aristocrat is plugged into her roots.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Charlotte's parents purchased a lakeside cottage located in Ontario. Since then, she and her family have spent plenty of time in their Canadian abode, soaking up the beauty of the north woods. In an episode of the podcast, "The Rabbit Hole Detectives," Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, gave hosts Richard Coles and Cat Jarman a peek at the family property. "There's no one around, which is one of the joys of Canada, you do have a lot of space," Charles said (via Hello!). He also revealed that they have a British flag hanging on their wall — a small yet sure sign of the family's multicultural roots.
Charlotte will never go to boarding school
For decades, it has been a tradition for young British aristocrats to attend private boarding schools. Given Lady Charlotte Spencer's position, it might be expected that she join her peers at one of these institutions. Her parents, however, could not be more against this idea.
The reason for this is that Charlotte's father, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, says that he was sexually assaulted during his time at Maidwell Hall prep school. He attended this institution between the ages of 8 and 13 and found the experience to be deeply traumatic. These days, Spencer's past makes him all the more protective of Charlotte.
"I have an 11-year-old, I have many children, and my youngest one I do the school run with her in the morning and it's a hoot, she's really funny and fun," the earl shared on the podcast, "Therapy Works" (via Hello!). "She's quite bored of me asking, 'Are there any strange teachers at school?' She sort of rolls her eyes and says, 'For goodness' sake, we've been through this,' but I will always be on guard."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
She is not as close to her other siblings
In some ways, Lady Charlotte Spencer comes from a huge family. Although she is the only fruit of her own parents' marriage, her father has six children from two previous relationships. Her mother, meanwhile, has two older daughters.
Despite hailing from such a huge family, Charlotte did not grow up with siblings to play with. Kate Gordon, her half-sibling from her mother's side, is 12 years older than Charlotte. Meanwhile, on her father's side, the Honorable Edmund Spencer is nine years older while Lady Lara Spencer, who is the sibling with whom she is closest in age, is six years older.
To make things more complicated, Charlotte's father has a tense relationship with many of his other children. He was not invited to the weddings of his eldest daughters, Lady Kitty Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer. This has left Charlotte isolated from her sisters. When reflecting on her family, Kitty took to Instagram to share an adorable photo of herself and her siblings from her father's first marriage to her mother, Victoria Lockwood. Charlotte was not in the photo.