Princess Diana's niece Lady Eliza Spencer has spoken of her excitement at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's return to Britain, saying she would love to find time to visit them.
Lady Eliza, daughter of Diana's brother Charles Spencer, spoke at the official launch of her rosé brand Lala V at Knightsbridge drinks retailer Hackstons on Wednesday night, just hours after Harry and Meghan landed in Birmingham on a private jet from California.
Asked about the Sussexes' arrival, the 34-year-old aristocrat told the Mirror: "Absolutely, it's exciting! We would love to be able to find some time to visit."
Rosé brand launch
Lady Eliza has followed in the footsteps of Meghan, 45, by launching a rosé brand. The Duchess of Sussex released her own £22 Napa Valley rosé as part of her As Ever lifestyle brand in July last year, on what would have been Diana's 64th birthday.
Asked if she will swap wine-making tips with Meghan, Lady Eliza teased: "Maybe!"
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, stayed at the Spencer family seat, home to Eliza's father Charles Spencer, during a trip to the UK last month, and it is understood Harry has a close relationship with his uncle. The couple and their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, visited Princess Diana's grave, which is on the estate, during the visit.
Wedding plans
Lady Eliza, who is engaged to tech executive Channing Millerd, 35, was aged just five when her aunt died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. She and Channing got engaged earlier this year. Earlier this month she posed in a swimsuit with the words 'Future Mrs M' emblazoned across her back, and the couple are now searching for a suitable wedding venue, with Lady Eliza admitting Italy is among the possible contenders.
The model, whose mother is Earl Spencer's first wife, former fashion model Victoria Aitken, told how she named her wine brand Lala V after her childhood nickname Lala, the initial of both her middle name and her mother's first name, and the French word "vie" - meaning life in English.
Lady Eliza was among guests at both Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018 and William and Kate's nuptials in 2011. She told how she is making plans for her own big day, which could finally unite warring brothers William and Harry. Asked if she will invite both of them to the event, she said family members will definitely be on the guestlist. Asked if it will be a big wedding, Channing added: "We're still in the infancy of the planning of it, so we have no idea what it's going to look like at the moment."
Personal meaning behind the name
Giving a speech at the event, Lady Eliza said: "It's incredibly special to see something that started as a little dream between the two of us come to life. Lala V really came from our shared love of rosé, but also everything that surrounds it - travelling, discovering people, places and food, long lunches in the sunshine and those moments when you look around the table at people you love."
"We wanted to bottle a little bit of that feeling. It creates something that felt elegant and special and still fun, relaxed and never too serious. The name itself is incredibly personal to me. When we were little, my little brother, Samuel, couldn't pronounce Eliza, so he called me Lala. It became my family nickname and stayed with me. The V is for Victoria, my second name, and also my mother's name, and it also represents vie, meaning life in French. So there are lots of little pieces of my family and my life within the name, which makes it even more special."
Lady Eliza also paid tribute to her husband-to-be for helping her create the wine and the brand and said they decided to grow it in Provence due to the area's proud wine-making history. She said: "Channing and I have been incredibly hands on with Lala V from the beginning, and I genuinely couldn't have done any of this without him. He has such an amazing and creative eye and designed everything from the bottle, the logo, the website, the whole visual world of Lala V."
"We really complement each other and he's also very good at calming to me down. We've also been really lucky with the support we've had from our family and friends and everyone who has discovered Lala V so far."
Lady Eliza added: "Ultimately Lala V is about enjoying life. Beautiful food and wine, travelling somewhere special, celebrating the little things, and most importantly, spending time with people you love. This really does feel like the beginning for us and we have so many dreams for where we would love to take Lala V."
In 2021, Lady Eliza and her twin sister Amelia jointly won Tatler's 'Best Dressed in Britain' award. According to her new drink's website, her £27 Cotes de Provence rosé was inspired by her as "it embodies modern elegance and timeless sophistication".
It adds: "Born into one of Britain's most iconic aristocratic families and niece to the late Princess Diana, Eliza has become a global style figure recognised for her grace, authenticity, and deeply rooted sense of heritage."
