A royal night out! Princess Diana’s twin nieces Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer dazzle at the 68th Vienna Opera Ball

Princess Diana’s nieces Lady Eliza Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer made a glamorous appearance at the Vienna Opera Ball last night – as they dazzled side by side on the red carpet.

The Spencer twins – who are the daughters of Charles Spencer, ninth Earl Spencer and Victoria Aitken – donned glamorous gowns and statement jewellery pieces when they arrived at the 68th annual society event held in the Austrian capital. 

Exuding sophistication, Lady Eliza opted for a gold dress with elegant white fashion gloves and a glossy nude lip. 

To accessorise, she dazzled in diamonds, with a blue diamond necklace combined with sparkling earrings and a floral ring.

Meanwhile, Lady Amelia put on a very elegant display in a sparkling silver gown fit with black fashion gloves. She added to the look with a pop of emerald green by opting for a silver jewelled choker necklace and colour-coordinated earrings.

Both sisters, 33, wore their hair in sleek updos complete with a middle parting and were all smiles as they represented British aristocracy at the high-profile event.

Dating back to 1814, the Vienna Opera Ball sees the auditorium of Vienna’s State Opera convert into an elegant ballroom for one night only, with glamorous partygoers descending on the Austrian capital to enjoy a night of splendour, music and dance.

The annual event draws more than 5,000 attendees, including members of the Austrian government along with a handful of A-list celebrities. 

Remarkably, it takes organisers 30 hours to convert the opera house into a ballroom and an additional 21 to dismantle all of the finery. 

Preparations for the formal event start weeks before, with 144 young couples aged between 17 to 24 dedicating themselves to rehearsals ahead of the night and spending hours putting the finishing touches on their outfits. 

For this year’s star-studded event, the Spencer twins were invited as guests in the STYLE UP YOUR LIFE! box hosted by Adi Weiss and Michael Lameraner, and were pictured arriving at the Adi Weisser reception prior to the event.

Ahead of the ball, the twins publicly announced how ‘incredibly delighted’ they were to have received an invitation.

‘The Vienna Opera Ball is something very special for us. It uniquely combines culture, history, and fashion. It is a great honour to be part of this tradition, and we are very much looking forward to an unforgettable evening in Vienna.’

Taking to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look of the ball, Amelia, who boasts more than 120k followers, described the event as ‘pure magic’.

Other high-profile figures who dazzled at the ball included Hollywood star Sharon Stone and American actress Fran Dresher. 

Meanwhile, English model Iris Law opted for an elegant all-black ensemble and was pictured beaming with Giovanna Battaglia Engelbrecht, Creative Director of Swarovski. 

The dazzling images of the Spencer twins at the Opera come just weeks after Eliza kicked off her wedding festivities with an intimate engagement party in Cape Town.

The radiant bride-to-be celebrated her engagement to businessman Channing Millerd at a glamorous rooftop party attended by 50 of ‘the people we love most’, the model revealed on Instagram. 

Channing got down on one knee during a stunning sunset proposal in Santorini last July after dating the model and socialite for almost a decade.

Speaking to Tatler, Lady Eliza recalled the moment her boyfriend of nine years popped the question during a romantic candlelit dinner, overlooking the sea, adding: ‘I laughed and I cried.

‘I don’t know how he pulled it all off, but it was so special. He did the most amazing job – above and beyond.’

‘I couldn’t have dreamt of such a beautiful setting,’ she continued, calling the sunset proposal a ‘dream come true’.

Her engagement ring was a thoughtful nod to Lady Eliza’s roots because it featured a 2.5-carat, pear-shaped diamond mined in South Africa.

Posing with her beau, Eliza showcased her dazzling engagement ring while posing with her beloved beau, Lady Amelia and Lady Kitty, alongside their mother, former model Victoria Aitken. 

Eliza took to Instagram to document the ‘special moments’ from her lavish engagement party in Cape Town, South Africa, where the Spencer twins grew up.

She donned a white, floral appliqué dress, custom-made for her by Belarusian designer Galia Lahav, which she paired with matching satin heels ahead of her wedding to tech executive Channing, 34.

Meanwhile, Kitty, who is an ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana, opted for a maximalist co-ord set, including a colourful, printed skirt and crop top, from the Italian luxury label.

However, one family member was conspicuously absent from the photographs, as it appeared Eliza’s father, Charles Spencer, skipped the party amid reports of a rumoured Spencer feud.

Charles was married to Victoria from 1989 until 1997. The couple moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where Eliza and her siblings Lady Amelia, Lady Kitty, and Louis were brought up away from the glare of public attention.

Princess Diana’s death occurred while their divorce case was in progress; shortly after their split was finalised, Earl Spencer moved back to the UK.

Princess Diana’s brother, who failed to wish Eliza when she announced her engagement to the South African entrepreneur, did not attend either Kitty or Amelia’s weddings in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Rumours of a family rift first began in July 2021, when Charles skipped his eldest daughter Kitty’s Italian wedding to retail millionaire Michael Lewis and failed to post about the landmark family occasion on his social media accounts.

Instead, Lady Kitty – who is 32 years younger than her husband – was walked down the aisle by her brother Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, 29, and Samuel.