While many will be familiar with the royal family and its various members, there are other relatives close to the royal family that people won’t be aware of.
Two of these family members are Princess Diana’s twin nieces, Lady Amelia and Eliza Spencer, who you may not know.
Princess Diana’s Brother Is Their Dad
Princess Diana’s younger brother, Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer, is the father to Amelia and Eliza.
He had the twin sisters with his ex-wife Victoria Lockwood in July 1992, with the pair being close to their cousins, Princes William and Harry, as they were growing up.
Lady Amelia and Eliza Grew Up in South Africa
While they may be part of the British royal family, Amelia and Eliza grew up outside of Britain.
They were born in Britain, however, they ended up spending most of their childhood and early adulthood in South Africa, with Amelia having studied at the University of Cape Town, according to She Knows.
They Attended Private School
Much like many other members of the royal family in the last few decades, Lady Amelia and Eliza went to private school.
According to RSVP Live, they went to a private school in Cape Town called Reddam House, which is believed to have cost over $7,000 a year.
Princess Diana Saved Them
Whilst Lady Amelia and Eliza were only 5 years old when Princess Diana died, the twins still remember her vividly.
When Diana took the twins out for the day, she would protect them from the paparazzi. According to People, Diana made Amelia and Eliza feel “safe and not frightened.”
A Second Tragic Car Crash
Princess Diana, unfortunately, met her fate in a car crash in Paris in 1997, and one of the twins had to deal with a similar tragedy a decade later.
In 2008, Lady Eliza’s first serious boyfriend, Christopher Elliot, sadly died at the age of 16 in a car crash, according to The Daily Mail. Eliza still honors him to this day, per a post on her Instagram from 2015.
It’s a Model’s Life
While Lady Amelia and Eliza might be related to the royal family, they still have a line of work outside of this lifestyle.
The twins are models and are signed to STORM Models. They have modeled for various publications, such as The Rake Magazine, Chopard, and Tatler.
They Have Big Dreams
They might be models now, but Lady Amelia and Eliza have big dreams for their futures.
According to The Daily Mail, Amelia wants to become a wedding planner, and Eliza wants to be an interior designer.
A Missed Royal Wedding
Most people would jump at the chance of being invited to a royal wedding, but Amelia wasn’t one of them.
Both twins were present at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding. However, Amelia was noticeably missing when Prince Harry got married to Meghan Markle, with no reason being given for her absence.
The Twins Are in Long-Term Relationships
The twin sisters have both been able to find love that has so far stood the test of time.
Amelia is married to Greg Mallet, with the two having met while at university. Eliza is also in a long-term relationship and has been for several years with Channing Millerd, and is a step-mom to his son from a previous relationship.
Amelia’s Deal with the Law
They might be royalty, but that doesn’t exempt them from being arrested, as Amelia learned back in 2011.
She was charged with “common assault” after an altercation in a McDonald’s in Cape Town, where someone claimed that Amelia and her friend had given him a concussion, according to The Standard. Her father, Earl Spencer, said she was acting in self-defense, but regardless, the charges were quickly dropped.
It’s All in the Family
Aside from their royal connections, Lady Amelia and Eliza have a much larger extended family than many might realize.
They have their older sister, Kitty Spencer, and their younger brother, Louis Frederick Spencer. However, as their parents divorced, they also have their half-siblings Samuel Aitkin, Edmund Spencer, Lady Lara Caroline Spencer, and Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer.
They Still Support their Royal Cousins
With the recent news of King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis and Kate Middleton’s abdominal surgery, Lady Amelia and Eliza were keen to show their cousin, Prince William, their support.
Prince William made an appearance at the recent Air Ambulance charity gala, where he thanked the public for the well wishes for his father and wife. According to The Daily Mail, Amelia and Eliza were there to show William their support on what must have been a difficult night for him.
