{{Short description|British former fashion model (born 1965)}} {{Distinguish|Victoria Atkin|Victoria Atkins}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | image = <!-- Only freely-licensed images may be used to depict living people. See WP:NONFREE.--> | name = Victoria Aitken | other_names = Victoria Spencer | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer <br>|1989|1997|reason=div.}} * {{marriage|Jonathan Aitken <br>|2005|2009|reason=div.}} }} | children = 5, including Lady Kitty Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer, Lady Eliza Spencer, and Louis, Viscount Althorp | parents = | birth_name = Catherine Victoria Lockwood | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|04|20|df=y}} | birth_place = Windsor, England | occupation = Model }} '''Catherine Victoria Aitken''' (''née'' '''Lockwood'''; born 20 April 1965), formerly '''Victoria Spencer, Countess Spencer''', is a British former fashion model and addiction counsellor, also known for being the former wife of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales.
==Family== Catherine Victoria Lockwood was born in Windsor, the only daughter of John Ernest Lockwood (deceased in 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/john-lockwood-obituary?id=41245489 |title= John LOCKWOOD Obituary Published by The Times on Jul. 21, 2010. |website=Legacy |language=en}}</ref>), an airline executive,<ref>John Pearson, ''Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals'' (A&C Black, 2011), 320 pages, {{ISBN|9781448207770}}.</ref> and Jean Lockwood, {{née}} Holt. Her brother Christopher Lockwood is a journalist and was Deputy Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit from May 2013 to May 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/network/christopher-lockwood/|title= Christopher Lockwood|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |publisher= University of Cambridge |access-date= 12 February 2021|quote=}}</ref> In London, her family lived on The Terrace in Barnes.<ref>Country Life Magazine Portrait - August 3, 1989 Vol. CLXXXIII No. 31. "''Miss Victoria Lockwood, only daughter of Mr and Mrs John Lockwood, of The Terrace, Barnes, London SW13, is to be married to Viscount Althorp, only son of the Earl Spencer, of Althorp, Northamptonshire, and of the Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd, of the Isle of Seil, Argyll''".</ref>
==Modelling career== Victoria Lockwood began to model at age 19 after being discovered by American photographer Bruce Weber,<ref>{{cite web | title=Samuel Aitken For Tatler Magazine |website=Tatler |url=https://www.metropolitanmodels.com/mmanagement/news/4891-samuel-for-tatler-magazine/ |language=en}}</ref> who also photographed her for her first fashion feature in ''Tatler'' in October 1984.
According to ''Bellazon.com'', one of the largest online fashion communities, she initially worked with ''Premier Models'' in London before moving to ''Click Models'' in New York City and ''FAM Models'' in Paris. In addition to ''Tatler'', she was pictured in well-known magazines such as ''British Vogue'', ''American Vogue'', ''Vogue Italia'', ''Marie Claire'', ''Elle Japan'', and ''Harper’s Bazaar'', among others.<ref>{{cite web| date=2015-02-03 |title= Female Fashion Models > Victoria Lockwood |url=https://www.bellazon.com/main/topic/56521-victoria-lockwood/ |website=Bellazon |language=en}}</ref>
During her youth, she struggled with eating disorders and substance dependence but gave up drugs, including heroin, before her first marriage in 1989 and has not returned to them since.<ref>{{cite web| date=1998-01-11 |title=Sunday Times - From bouquets to brickbats: (...) Jeremy Gauntlett said that before the marriage she told Spencer "''everything about the drugs and eating disorder. She gave up drugs before she married him, and she has never resorted to drugs since''." |url=https://www.sundaytimes.lk/980111/plus10.html |website=Sunday Times |language=en}}</ref>
==Marriages== ===First marriage=== On 16 September 1989, after a six-week courtship, she married Charles Spencer, then Viscount Althorp, at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Great Brington. The ceremony was conducted by the local vicar, Rev. Norman Knibbs, and the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, met the bride in the doorway of the church.
Her engagement ring was made up of ruby and diamond topped with a crown, similar to one ring that belonged to Queen Victoria, while her wedding dress of champagne French antique lace with Russian sable trim was designed by Tomasz Starzewski.<ref>{{cite news|last=Trucco|first=Terry|date=10 December 1989|title=Style Makers; Tomasz Starzewski, Fashion Designer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/10/style/style-makers-tomasz-starzewski-fashion-designer.html|url-status=live|work=The New York Times|location=London|publication-place=New York City|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112045702/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/10/style/style-makers-tomasz-starzewski-fashion-designer.html|archive-date=12 November 2012|access-date=18 October 2021|url-access=registration}}</ref> She wore the Spencer Tiara.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cope|first=Rebecca|date=26 July 2021|title=The Spencer Brides: From Lady Diana to Victoria Lockwood, this dynasty has always led the way in bridal fashion|url=https://www.tatler.com/gallery/spencer-family-brides|magazine=Tatler|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> Althorp's nephews Prince Harry and Alexander Fellowes were the pageboys at their wedding and his nieces Eleanor Fellowes and Emily McCorquodale were bridesmaids.<ref name="Indy">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/poor-little-rich-girls-26748202.html|title=Poor little rich girls|author=Emily Hourican|date=3 July 2011|website=independent.ie|access-date=23 May 2021}}</ref>
During their marriage, she was known as Viscountess Althorp and later, with the death of her father-in-law in March 1992, as Countess Spencer. They had four children: *Lady Kitty Eleanor Spencer (born 28 December 1990); married Michael Lewis in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tatler.com/article/lady-kitty-spencer-wedding-dress-designer-dolce-and-gabbana|title=Dolce & Gabbana on creating Lady Kitty Spencer's stunning wedding dress|work=Tatler|first=Chandler|last=Tregaskes|date=25 July 2021|access-date=25 July 2021}}</ref> They have one daughter, Athena. *Lady Eliza Victoria Spencer (born 10 July 1992), a model *Lady Katya Amelia Spencer (born 10 July 1992); a model; married Greg Mallett, nephew of former South African national rugby coach Nick Mallett, in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Henni |first=Janine |date=16 March 2023 |access-date=31 March 2023 |title=All About Princess Diana's Niece Lady Amelia Spencer Ahead of Her Wedding |work=People |url=https://people.com/royals/lady-amelia-spencer-all-about-princess-diana-niece/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/versace-western-cape-wales-south-african-kitty-b2309462.html|title=Diana's niece Lady Amelia Spencer marries in opulent Versace gown|work=The Independent|first=Prudence|last=Wade|date=28 March 2023|access-date=31 March 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/who-are-lady-amelia-eliza-spencer-twins-diana-b1061946.html Who are Lady Amelia & Eliza Spencer?]; The Standard; 21 Feb. 2023</ref> *Louis Frederick John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 14 March 1994); heir apparent to the earldom.
The family lived at ''The Falconry'', a historic building built in 1613 on the Althorp Estate, until Charles Spencer inherited the earldom and the estate from his father.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/502934/earl-charles-spencer-former-home-the-falconry-althorp-estate/ |title=Earl Charles Spencer reveals where he lived before inheriting Althorp House. |website=Hello! Magazine. September 21, 2023.}}</ref>
From early in the marriage, her husband was involved in extramarital relationships, while Victoria experienced ongoing struggles with anorexia and substance addiction. Just sixteen months after the wedding, her husband admitted to the press that he had had an affair with a journalist early on, when the viscountess was pregnant for the first time.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-04-ca-669-story.html#:~:text=L.A.%20Times%20Archives,World%20&%20Nation | title=Short Takes : Di's Brother Admits Infidelity |website= L.A. Times Archives. Feb. 4, 1991 12 AM PT |language= en}}</ref><ref name="northamptonchron">{{cite web | url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/victoria-i-was-hurt-scared-and-devastated-by-earl-s-affair-1-924114 | title='I was hurt, scared and devastated' by Earl's affair | author=Oliver Jelley | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622192625/https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/victoria-i-was-hurt-scared-and-devastated-by-earl-s-affair-1-924114 | archive-date=22 June 2018 | access-date=11 July 2021}}</ref> In the spring of 1994, after the birth of their last child, her husband met a married South African socialite with whom he began an affair that lasted two years and five months, ending in December 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Husband+takes+back+beauty+dumped+by+Earl+Spencer.-a060652511 | title=The Free Library by Farlex. "Husband takes back beauty dumped by Earl Spencer".| date=1998-12-27}}</ref>
In April 1995, Countess Spencer was photographed by tabloid newspapers while walking in the grounds of a private clinic in Surrey, where she spent five months receiving treatment for addiction issues, reportedly including alcoholism, as well as eating disorders. Later that month, a spokesman for the Earl confirmed that the couple would be living separately, although there were no plans for divorce at that time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/547498189/ |title=The Times-Mail Town April 24, 1995 |language=en}}</ref>
In September 1995, the Earl and Countess Spencer filed a lawsuit against the United Kingdom at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), claiming that there was no privacy law in the UK to prevent newspapers from reporting on her health issues and intruding into their private lives. In January 1998, the court eventually dismissed their claims, noting that they had not exhausted all available legal avenues under British law before bringing the case to Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/47847.stm |title=BBC NEWS. Earl Spencer loses privacy battle to Europe. January 16, 1998| language=en}}</ref>
Just before Christmas in 1995, the already estranged Spencers moved with their four children to Cape Town, South Africa, to avoid media attention.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why are they famous?: Countess Victoria Spencer |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/why-are-they-famous-countess-victoria-spencer-1178963.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220817/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/why-are-they-famous-countess-victoria-spencer-1178963.html |archive-date=17 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent |date=18 October 1998 |access-date=21 May 2011}}</ref> They both settled in the suburb of Constantia, where Countess Spencer lived with the children at ''Silverhurst Estate'', a gated community, and Earl Spencer resided in the nearby ''Tarrystone House'', which he purchased in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1227172/love-island-2020-villa-princess-diana-south-africa-charles-spencer-spt | title=EXPRESS - Love Island villa's incredible link to Princess Diana revealed.}}</ref>
After the family relocation, Earl Spencer filed for divorce in South Africa, as both parties were living there, while the Countess wanted the case to be heard in Britain. This led to a legal battle over the proper jurisdiction, which was eventually resolved when Countess Spencer, represented by Jeremy Gauntlett, agreed to have the divorce finalized in South Africa to spare her children public scrutiny and avoid a prolonged process.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/spencers-agree-terms-of-divorce-1286326.html |title= Spencers agree terms of divorce. |website= Independent |date=1997-12-02}}</ref>
During the divorce proceedings, the Countess did not attend her former sister-in-law Diana's funeral in September 1997, as she continued her recovery treatment and stayed with her children in Cape Town, where she began a four-year relationship with a local pharmacist. At the burial, Earl Spencer was accompanied with his then-new girlfriend, a South African model,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/a-fairytale-wedding-doomed-to-fail/26200329.html |title= A fairytale wedding doomed to fail ... | website=Irish Independent - Mon 1 Dec 1997 at 22:11}}</ref> whom Victoria herself had introduced to him; their relationship lasted nine months.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/fashion-and-beauty/2015-09-22-josie-borain-sas-first-true-supermodel-has-found-herself-in-her-fifties/#google_vignette |title=Josie Borain: SA's first true supermodel has found herself in her fifties. |website= Sunday Times |date=2015-09-22}}</ref>
On 3 December 1997, after a highly publicized case, the Cape Town High Court granted the Spencers’ divorce through a settlement that awarded her a lump sum of £1.815 million, as well as her car and her house in Cape Town with its contents. The couple had joint custody of the children.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/36710.stm#:~:text=BBC%20News%20%7C%20World%20%7C%20Spencers%20agree,marriage%20had%20irretrievably%20broken%20down |title= Spencers agree £2m divorce settlement. |website=BBC News. December 3, 1997 Published at 15:54 GMT}}</ref> Later in October 1998, she sued her former lawyers for delaying the filing of the divorce petition in England before her departure from the country, resulting in a smaller settlement in South Africa.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/189049.stm |title= UK - Spencer to sue over settlement |website= BBC News. Thursday, October 8, 1998 Published at 11:51 GMT 12:51 UK.}}</ref>
After their divorce, Earl Spencer moved back to the United Kingdom, and subsequently remarried.<ref name="Indy"/>
===Second marriage=== In 2001, through mutual friends, Victoria Spencer met and started dating South African businessman Jonathan Aitken, a former model who then ran an international clothing company. The next year, they were expecting their only child, Samuel Aitken (born 18 April 2003), who is a model.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Stephanie Bridger-Linning |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/lady-amelia-and-lady-eliza-spencer-share-tributes-to-samuel-aitken-on-20th-birthday |title=Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer share touching tributes to their brother Samuel Aitken on his 20th birthday |magazine=Tatler |date=18 April 2023 |access-date=16 October 2024 }}</ref> About the birth of her fifth child, she told ''Hello! Magazine'' that there was no pressure that time, as she was not providing a much awaited son and heir.<ref>Hello! Magazine, number 774. “Victoria Spencer, the former wife of Earl Spencer celebrates the birth of her fifth child and a new and simpler life in South Africa”. July 22, 2003.</ref>
They married in a civil ceremony in January 2005, in the garden of her house in Cape Town. Her four children by Spencer served as bridesmaids and pageboy.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2005/01/10/Ex-wife-of-Charles-Spencer-weds/44711105397628/ |title=Ex-wife of Charles Spencer weds |website= Korea Regional Review - UPI.com |date=2005-10-01}}</ref> She changed her name to Victoria Aitken. They divorced in 2009.<ref name="Indy"/>
==Counselling work== In October 1998, having recovered from her addictions and trained as a counsellor, Victoria Spencer co-opened ''The Stepping Stones'' treatment centre on Main Road in Kommetjie. In her opening speech, she described herself as an “alcoholic and anorexic” who had been given “the precious gift of recovery” and stated that "there was no cause closer to her heart than the treatment of addiction", expressing gratitude to her counsellor and senior specialist, Carry Bekker, who had supported her throughout her journey.<ref>{{cite web| title="''My name is Victoria. I'm an alcoholic, an anorexic and addict''"; CONFESSIONS OF A COUNTESS: Bravery of Spencer's ex-wife as she opens addiction clinic.|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/My+name+is+Victoria.+I%27m+an+alcoholic%2C+an+anorexic+and+addict%3B...-a060939057 |work=Daily Record (Scotland) |date= 1998-10-22}}</ref> Today the clinic in Kommetjie is known as ''Akeso Stepping Stones'', being part of ''Netcare Group Limited''.<ref>{{cite web| url =https://www.steppingstones.co.za/Clinical-Programme/Available-programmes |title=Akeso Stepping Stones - Who we are: ''Clients still experience the same special care that is part of the legacy of our 1998 founders, Carrie Bekker and Lady Victoria Spencer''. |website= Akeso Stepping Stones.}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Victoria}} Category:1965 births Victoria <!-- Do not add Category:British courtesy viscountesses as that is for courtesy viscountesses who did not become countess/marchioness/duchess, and so does not apply here.--> Spencer Category:British female models Category:Living people Category:British expatriates in South Africa Category:Royalty and nobility models Category:Substance abuse counselors