Lady Kitty Spencer has offered her social media followers a glimpse into the glamorous summer she's enjoyed with her millionaire businessman husband and their young daughter.

The 35-year-old niece of Princess Diana shared a heartwarming image of Athena, three, who she shares with British-South African investor Michael Lewis, 67, dressed in a sweet cherry-print dress in the sunshine.

While clutching a baby doll and wearing a pair of small white sandals, Athena walked alongside a beach with white sunloungers visible in the distance.

It's been a summer of enviable travel for Lady Kitty, with jaunts to the Hamptons in New York and the French Riviera – onboard a superyacht, no less – all while the controversy surrounding her father Earl Spencer has swirled.

Lady Kitty has distanced herself from any of the drama surrounding her father, who recently published his explosive memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.

Images posted on social media have shown her posing in a striking two piece onboard the luxury Maison Mytheresa superyacht – which sailed between Monaco and Saint-Tropez across June, long before the release of her father's book last month. 

The exclusive invite-only yacht offers bespoke suites and a large pool with eight cabins onboard at a staggering cost of approximately £509,000 per week.

In a catalogue of enviable 20 photographs and videos shared to her Instagram last month, Lady Kitty also posted a rare couple's photo with her hardly seen multimillionaire husband Michael Lewis, whom she wed in July 2021.

Lady Kitty, who is 32 years younger than her husband, also offered a glimpse into her typically private family life – including one picture of Athena enjoying the crystal-blue sea.

Showcasing her effortless style, Lady Kitty put on a glamorous display in a red and white-striped Silvia Tcherassi dress and soaked up the vibrant sunshine in a purple mini dress and sunglasses.

In other photographs, Lady Kitty and her daughter are seen snoozing on a yacht, enjoying a spot of tennis and playing in a water ring- toss game at a market in what appears to be a French town.

The pair were also seen roaming the grounds of a large waterside villa, while young Athena lay in a hammock against a picturesque sea backdrop.

Combined with family photographs, Lady Kitty also posed by the water with Carla Ballerio Greggio, creative director of interior design studio Sabrina Monte-Carlo.

To round off her luxurious summer travels, the socialite posted a video of singer Jennifer Lopez performing on stage – believed to have been filmed during the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda festivities in Sicily.

Lady Kitty has kept her relationship with Michael largely out of the public eye, rarely sharing photos of him on social media and choosing to step out solo for most red-carpet events.

The couple, who first met through mutual friends in 2018, tied the knot in a glamorous ceremony at a stunning Italian country mansion three years later. They secretly welcomed Athena in 2023 and only announced her arrival on Mother's Day the following year.

Sharing a picture on the beach holding her baby, Lady Kitty wrote: 'It's the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally. Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate today.'

In August, Lady Kitty shared a glimpse of her trip to The Hamptons on Instagram – posting several images from the 'sweetest summertime' in the popular holiday spot often frequented by A-listers.

Lady Kitty oozed elegance as she posed in a glamorous floral maxi dress, which she paired with pink heels, during an intimate dinner hosted by fashion designers Carolina Herrera and Wes Gordon, and Sarah Wetenhall, founder of the boutique hotel Hedges Inn.

Elsewhere, Lady Kitty posed in a polka dot bikini top, while also showcasing her family time in the sun – including trips to the supermarket, footprints in the sand and Athena feeding farm animals.

Combined with family snapshots, Lady Kitty also shared a photograph with dermatologist Dr Macrene Alexiades at an event for nail varnish brand Essie, alongside footage of American DJ Diplo during a performance in The Hamptons.

Lady Kitty is a first cousin to Princes William and Harry, which means that Athena is a second cousin to Princes George, Louis, Archie and Princesses Charlotte and Lilibet.

She has made a name for herself in the fashion world, as a spokesmodel for Dolce & Gabbana, who supplied five dresses for her wedding, and walking in several Fashion Weeks across the globe.

Michael, who is the chairman of the Foschini Group, which owns British high street chains Whistles and Phase Eight, is believed to be worth £80million.

The business tycoon owns a £19million property in London and another home in his native South Africa, where his wife and her three siblings grew up after her father, Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, divorced.

Michael comes from wealth, thanks to his grandfather's furniture retail business, which was founded in the 1930s.

Stanley Lewis, Michael's father, bought a stake in the clothing retailer Foschini Group in the 1980s, with Michael later taking his place on the board.

The tycoon has been the board's chairman since 2015 and presides over a vast retail empire.

Michael, who is five years older than Lady Kitty's father, wed his first wife in 1985, and they had three children together before divorcing.

He proposed to Lady Kitty shortly before Christmas 2019 and their engagement became public in January 2020.

During their wedding, Lady Kitty's father was notably absent, as were her cousins. Instead, she was walked down the aisle by her brother Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and half-brother Samuel Aitken, whose father is businessman Jonathan Aitken, her mother's ex-husband.

Earl Spencer was also absent from her sister, Lady Amelia's mountaintop wedding to lifestyle coach Greg Mallet in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 2023.

At the time, an insider told the Daily Mail that the Earl's health was unlikely to have accounted for his absence. Rather, it was likely to have been the result of a changing family dynamic.

It comes as Earl Spencer has been promoting his book with a series of television interviews in the US. 

Extracts from the book, serialised exclusively in the Daily Mail ahead of its publication last week, saw the Earl claim that the King declared 'rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough' shortly after Princess Diana's death.

Buckingham Palace issued an extraordinary statement in response, suggesting that grief can 'cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory'.