Who is Louis Spencer? Princess Diana’s nephew celebrates his 30th birthday today. He has three older sisters – but it’s Louis who will inherit the magnificent Althorp estate

He is a little-known actor, with few significant roles to his name. 

And as for media profile, there is virtually none, with him having even deleted his Instagram account.

Yet he has been named him one of the world’s most eligible bachelors by society bible Tatler, and, one day, he is set to inherit the whole of the 13,500-acre Althorp estate, where Diana, Princess of Wales, grew up.

When his father – Diana’s brother Charles – dies, Louis Spencer will take on his title and become the 10th Earl Spencer.

Lady Eliza Spencer, Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, Victoria Lockwood and Lady Kitty Spencer at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in May 2018

Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, with his children: Amelia, Eliza, Kitty and Louis at the official opening of the Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens in 2000

Louis, who was born on 14 March 1994 at St Mary’s Hospital, London, is the only son of Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer , 9th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Victoria Aitken

Viscount Althorp and Prince Harry at the wedding of Celia McCorquodale and George Woodhouse in June 2018

With it comes the magnificent Grade I listed Georgian house and land estimated to be worth more than £100 million.

With its 90 rooms, extensive collection of prized art and furniture – as well as 28 listed buildings and structures in the grounds – Althorp, in Northamptonshire, has been the family seat of the Spencer family for more than 500 years.

Today, Louis, who lives in London, turns 30. Although he has three elder sisters, male primogeniture means it is he who will be the sole heir to this fortune.

Louis, who already holds the title Viscount Althorp, is the youngest child and only son that his father had with his first wife, Victoria Aitken (née Lockwood).

Born on March 14, 1994, at St Mary’s Hospital, London, he was raised by his mother in South Africa following his parents’ split. While living in Cape Town he studied at the city’s most expensive private school, Diocesan College, where the fees cost up to the equivalent of £13,955 a year.

He later returned to the UK to study at the University of Edinburgh.

Tall like his cousins Princes William and Harry, Louis went on to study acting at the ArtsEd drama school in Chiswick, London. Performing under the stage name Louis John Lyons, he is signed to the Tavistock Wood talent agency, whose stars include Dominic West and Lily James.

Unlike his older sisters, Lady Kitty, 33 – who has also modelled for Dolce & Gabbana – and twins Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza, 31, who have been Tatler cover stars, Louis avoids social media and  high-profile events.

Tatler described the strawberry-blond heir as ‘tall, debonair, and very handsome but ‘super private’.

And the Daily Telegraph last year went as far as to dub Louis the ‘reluctant poster boy of male primogeniture’.

Earl Spencer, 59, has spoken out to say he will keep to tradition and choose Louis as his heir.

In 2015, he said: ‘If I chose Kitty it would be against all the tradition that goes with Althorp. It’s just the way it is. I get the problems with it as a concept.

‘I also get the strengths of it having worked to date. It is still intact. If you go around the chateaux of the Loire or whatever, they are empty.

‘Everything gets split equally through the generations and you end up with a beautiful building with one nice tapestry in it. The whole idea of primogeniture was to keep it together.’

Louis enjoys a close relationship with his sisters.

He walked his eldest sister Kitty down the aisle during her Italian wedding, instead of their father, who controversially did not attend.

As children, they had enjoyed a privileged but private upbringing in Cape Town, where Earl Spencer and Victoria moved in 1995 to raise their children out of the public eye.

The couple divorced in December 1997, months after Diana’s death, and Charles moved back to the UK shortly afterwards.

Aside from a handful of photo calls with his father, Louis was kept largely out of the spotlight.

His first high-profile appearance was at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in April 2011, although the 17-year-old was outshone by his glamorous blonde older sisters.

Four years later, Louis made an unexpected appearance on rapper Nicki Minaj’s Instagram feed.

He was seen with his arm around the American star, with the singer cheekily captioning it ‘check out our wedding photo’.

Louis first came under the spotlight at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018, when he accompanied his mother and sisters.

Dapper in a morning suit, Louis became one of the unlikely stars of the day and received dozens of playful marriage proposals from besotted social media users.

Louis Spencer and his mother, Victoria Aitken, at Tatler’s English Roses 2017 at the Saatchi Gallery in London

Thanks to male primogeniture, Louis will one day inherit Althorp house

The Spencer family pictured at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Service for Diana, Princess of Wales at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks in August 2007

Louis walked his eldest sister Kitty down the aisle with their half-brother Samuel Aitken during her Italian wedding – instead of their father

Their close sibling relationship is said to be due, in part, to the fact that they enjoyed a private upbringing in Cape Town

Aside from a handful of photo calls with his father, Louis was kept largely out of the spotlight

His appearance and strong family resemblance also earned him the nickname ‘Harry Lite’.

No doubt his family connections and looks will come in handy if Louis decides to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

In 2019, his father Charles Spencer revealed: ‘Louis lives in London. He’s an actor at drama school and works incredibly hard and I want him to be able to fulfil his dreams in that direction. It is full-on: he’s doing 14-hour days.’

However, it remains to be seen how he might juggle a burgeoning career with the sizeable responsibility of managing Althorp, when the day comes.