Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer

Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, was born on 23 May 1892 in London. He was the son of Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, and Margaret Baring, the second daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke. His godparents included King Edward VII. Spencer was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. During his time at Cambridge, he formed a friendship with Lionel Lupton, with whom he shared a university residence and whom he accompanied to enlist in World War I.

Spencer’s military career commenced on 5 August 1914, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 October 1914. On 9 May 1917, he was appointed aide-de-camp, and he received a further promotion to captain on 15 June 1917. Following the amalgamation of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards on 18 November 1922, Spencer was appointed a captain in the newly formed regiment. He retired from active military service on 20 September 1924 but remained in the Regular Army Reserve of Officers until 2 June 1943.

On 27 August 1924, Lord Spencer was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 4th (Territorial) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment. He continued in this position through its renaming as the 50th (Northamptonshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion in 1937 and maintained the role until relinquishing it on 1 April 1967. He was awarded the Territorial Efficiency Decoration on 12 September 1944, with two clasps awarded on 20 November 1953.

In civil service, Spencer was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire on 9 April 1935. He was later appointed Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, serving from 11 March 1952 until 31 July 1967. He was invested as a knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem on 1 July 1955. Spencer was involved in local politics as a Conservative councillor for Northamptonshire. He also managed and opened his ancestral home, Althorp, to the public.

Spencer was a trustee of the Wallace Collection and served as chairman of the Royal School of Needlework. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society of Arts. During the 1960s, he was the Chair of the Advisory Council of the Victoria and Albert Museum and served as Chairman of the Governors at Wellingborough School from 1946 to 1972.

He married Lady Cynthia Hamilton, the second daughter of the 3rd Duke of Abercorn, on 26 February 1919 at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London. The marriage produced two children: Lady Anne Spencer (1920–2020) and John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992). Lady Anne married Captain Christopher Wake-Walker, with whom she had children.

Albert Spencer died at St Matthews Nursing Home in Northampton on 9 June 1975 after a short illness. His son succeeded him as Earl Spencer and was the father of Diana, Princess of Wales.