Lady Kitty Spencer, the glamorous 28-year-old niece of Princess Diana, has been photographed strolling through the streets of Manhattan with her 60-year-old rumored boyfriend, fashion tycoon Michael Lewis, all but confirming a long-rumored relationship between the two.
It’s been whispered since last fall that Lady Kitty was dating Lewis, the multimillionaire founder of women’s clothing brand Whistles, who is six years older than her father, Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother. Charles is known for giving a powerful speech at Diana’s funeral excoriating the royal family for failing to protect his sister.
Photographs published in The Daily Mail show the young model tenderly resting her hand on Lewis’ shoulder, described as “a gesture that publicly confirms her relationship with the fashion tycoon for the first time.”
The couple were spotted trying to avoid being photographed together this week leaving the Mark hotel in Manhattan. Lady Kitty was seen walking out of the establishment a few moments after Lewis, but the couple then hopped into the same waiting taxi.
Lady Kitty was previously in a four-year relationship with Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, 48. They split in 2017 and he began dating Liz Hurley, 53.
Lewis is South African-born and Lady Kitty grew up in South Africa after her dad and his wife Victoria split. Both her parents are younger than Lewis, who has a fortune estimated at £80 million ($1o2 million) and is a divorced father of three, according to the Mail.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Lady Kitty once again declined to confirm her relationship with Lewis, saying only: “I’ve been really lucky. I’ve always had really lovely, straightforward boyfriends… I don’t see the appeal of going for anyone who’s too complicated or not trustworthy… I just like people who are kind.”
Lady Kitty, who was only 6 when Diana died, became a social-media star after a showstopping appearance at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in an emerald-green hand-painted Dolce & Gabbana dress that was paired with a Philip Treacy fascinator.
She told Harper’s Bazaar her Instagram follower count “went from 17,000 to half a million in one night. I thought I had someone else’s phone when I woke up the next morning. I had to turn my notifications off because my phone was going to die.”
Kitty, whose blond hair, wide smile, and bright blue eyes are often compared to Diana’s, has also sought to continue some small parts of her famous aunt’s charitable work. She’s as an ambassador for the youth-homelessness charity Centrepoint, of which Diana was patron, and Prince William is now.