The Princess of Wales’ absence from public life as she recovers from abdominal surgery is certainly felt in many corners—not the least of which is fashion. Last night her husband, Prince William, spoke at a charity gala for the London Air Ambulance and, had Kate not been in recovery (she’s sidelined until at least April), she no doubt would have been by her husband’s side, likely in a take-our-breath-away fashion moment.
Stepping in Kate’s place we actually got not just one glamorous royally adjacent woman, but two: twins Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, nieces of Princess Diana and cousins of William (and Prince Harry, too, but he was already headed back home to California and his family there).
Amelia and Eliza’s father is Earl Charles Spencer, Diana’s only brother. The twins adhered to the night’s black and white color scheme, Amelia in black, Eliza in white, and both wearing their hair in a similar slicked back style. The twins were born in 1992 and were only five when their Aunt Diana died; even before her tragic death, the twins grew up away from the U.K. in South Africa. Regardless, the twins told Tatler in 2021—in a rare joint interview—that they remembered their “incredibly warm, maternal, and loving” aunt.
“As a child, I realized the enormity of the loss for my father and family,” Eliza said of Diana’s death in 1997 in a Parisian car accident. “It was only later that I came to understand the significance of the loss of her as a figure in the world.”
William spoke of the royal family’s recent health scares at the gala last night, thanking the public for their “kind messages of support” since his wife underwent abdominal surgery, and his father King Charles was diagnosed with cancer this past month. “It means a great deal to us all,” he said, then quipped “It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus, so I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all.”
Yesterday marked William’s return to work following the health scares that have shaken the royal family. (In addition to the gala last night, he also hosted an investiture at Windsor Castle.) Meanwhile, Kate is resting at the family home of Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, and Charles and Queen Camilla have departed for their country home in Norfolk as the King recuperates from outpatient treatment earlier this week.
As for the Spencer twins, as with last night, they are often seen in coordinating outfits. (Their go to designers? Versace and Dior, Hello reports.) The two are “very close” and spend ample time together, likely accounting for the—pun totally intended—twinning outfits.
“We’ve always been very close,” Amelia told Tatler. “We’re very similar. We love doing the same things and share the same friends. You’re guaranteed to have a best friend there always—you can’t really compare it to anything else.”
