After Princess Diana's tragic death in 1997, her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale (formerly known as Sarah Spencer) went on to continue her humanitarian work as president of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, which eventually closed in 2012.
She has also remained close to her nephews, Prince Harry and Prince William. She was present at their respective weddings to Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
"Harry has always kept in close touch with the Spencers and they have all received invitations [to the wedding]," a source told Vanity Fair ahead of the Sussexes' wedding. "Harry gets on well with his aunts and uncle and they have met Meghan."
Diana also used to call Harry "my little spencer" due to his "striking resemblance to his aunt Sarah," who also has red hair. Now, that should put those paternity rumors to rest.
But where is Sarah these days amid the British royal family drama? Here's what her life's like, nearly three decades after almost marrying King Charles III.
Were Princess Diana And Lady Sarah McCorquodale Close?
According to Sarah Bradford's biography Diana, Sarah was "hero-worshipped" by her sister growing up. The eldest of the four Spencer children, the former was six years older than the latter. In Diana: Her True Story, Andrew Morton wrote that in their teenage years, "when Sarah returned home from West Heath School, Diana was a willing servant, unpacking her suitcases, running her bath, tidying her room."
Royal biographer, Judy Wade also revealed that Sarah "knew about Diana's affairs" and even "encouraged" the late philanthropist "to be wild and to have lovers" by the end of her marriage to Charles. At that point, Diana even described Sarah as "the only person I know I can trust."
Unfortunately, she didn't get the same confidence from the public when she was slammed for holding out on donating $132.8 million to charities under the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. She was also criticized for accepting "questionable" endorsement deals, which associated her sister's memory with lottery tickets and margarine.
Why Did Lady Sarah McCorquodale Refuse To Marry King Charles?
Sarah had a fling with Charles in 1977 when they were in their early 20s. In fact, a 16-year-old Diana first met the former Prince of Wales at a dance in Althorp, the Spencer family's ancestral home. "I remember thinking what a very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old she was. I mean, great fun, and bouncy and full of life and everything," Charles said during their engagement interview in 1981.
As to why Sarah and Charles called it quits, the former said that they'd never planned on getting married as the press speculated back then. In 1978, many thought that the latter had gotten down on one knee during a romantic ski trip at the Swiss resort Klosters.
Later on, a 22-year-old Sarah clarified that it was a "marvelous holiday but there's no question of an engagement." She added that "there is no chance of my marrying him. I'm not in love with him. And I wouldn't marry anyone I didn't love whether he were the dustman or the King of England. If he asked me I would turn him down. I would only marry for love."
Still, she was pretty proud of her role in Diana and Charles' love story, which ended in 1996 when they were officially divorced. "I introduced them; I'm Cupid," Sarah reportedly said of their meet-cute.
Where Is Lady Sarah McCorquodale Now?
To this day, despite Harry and Meghan's drama with the royal family, Sarah remains involved in her nephew's life. She even attended the christening of their kids, Archie and Lilibet. Nowadays, she resides in Grantham, Lincolnshire with her husband, Neil McCorquodale. They have three children: Emily Jane, George Edmund, and Celia Rose.
In 2009, Sarah acted as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire. The following year, she went on to become master of the Belvoir Hunt, which was involved in fox hunting. She was also portrayed by Isobel Eadie in season 4 of Netflix's The Crown. Although she's never commented on the show, her brother Charles Spencer has expressed his honest thoughts about it.
During an appearance on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh in 2020, he said he was worried that viewers would "forget that it is fiction." He added that it has "a lot of conjecture and a lot of invention" and that "you can hang it on fact, but the bits in between are not fact."
The 9th Earl Spencer noted that it's not easy watching Diana's life portrayed onscreen. "There is a bit. Actually, The Crown asked if they could film at Althorp [the Spencer family's ancestral home], and I said obviously not," he shared.
He continued: "The worry for me is that people see a program like that and they forget that it is fiction. They assume, especially foreigners, I find Americans tell me they have watched The Crown as if they have taken a history lesson. Well, they haven't."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrGwsdJmp6uhnpiytL%2BMnaCappGoerS10q2cq2Wjlr%2BitIysp56mk5q%2FbrDOaA%3D%3D