How Princess Diana’s Niece Lady Kitty Spencer Looks After Her Mental and Physical Health

Lady Kitty Spencer, model, brand ambassador and, most famously perhaps, Princess Diana’s niece, has opened up about her upbringing, her work and how she approaches well-being in a rare interview with the Telegraph.

The 28-year-old grew up in South Africa which meant unlike her first cousins Harry and William, she grew up mostly out of the spotlight. That all changed when she attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in a stunning hand-painted Dolce and Gabanna dress. Her profile [and the number of Instagram followers she had] shot up overnight and now Lady Spencer probably has more eyes on her than ever.

That kind of attention can be stressful for somebody who claims, as Kitty does, to be quite an introvert. But she revealed in her interview that she assures herself of the power she has over it, telling the Telegraph: “Social media doesn’t have conscience – it’s how you use it; you give it power.” Kitty uses Instagram to give her almost half a million followers a glimpse into her lifestyle—which is of course an extremely lavish one—and her modelling work. But alongside photos of Capri and polo matches, are photos promoting her charity work. She is involved with Give Us Time, a charity which helps organise time off for members of the armed forces, and works with Youth Focus, an Australian suicide-prevention charity, Save the Children, and CentrePoint, of which the Duke of Cambridge is currently patron.

Kitty’s approach to mental and physical well-being was shaped by her mother Victoria Aitken’s honesty about her own struggles. A former model, Aitken became a counsellor specialising in addiction and body dysmorphia after overcoming drug and alcohol addictions and anorexia. She tells The Telegraph that this is where her “self-awareness and empathy” come from, whereas her more “cerebral” side (she was a keen student) comes from her father, Charles, Earl Spencer. Kitty revealed she doesn't own a pair of scales.

On self-esteem, Kitty pulled out that most famous quote of Eleanor Roosevelt that “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent” and encouraged people to build up their self-esteem as a shield against the harshness of social media. An important part of that self-esteem involves working for a living. It’s safe to say that if she didn't want to, Kitty Spencer wouldn’t have to work a day in her life. But as she wrote in Harper’s Bazaar earlier this year, “empowerment means earning my own money.” Working gives her “balance”.

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As an introvert she has also makes sure she has the space to recharge after socialising, confessing that she would “go and sit in the bathroom for a little bit” if she needed a time out during an event. She also doesn’t have too many people round often to her flat, saying “My flat is not a place to entertain, it’s a place to decompress.”

Another way she deals with being overwhelmed, or what she calls getting “whelmed over” is to write lists: “Put it on paper, get it out of your head.” But if the stress gets a bit too much, she flies to South Africa to hang out with her mother and some of her siblings.