Charles Spencer, the younger brother of the late Princess Diana, has reflected on the close and complex relationships within his family, particularly between Diana and their older sisters, Sarah McCorquodale and Jane Fellowes. In his memoir *Swan Song*, Spencer describes growing up amid family upheaval marked by divorce and the loss of a sibling, experiences that forged a strong bond between him and Diana during their childhood in Norfolk and Northamptonshire.
This familial closeness also sheds light on Spencer’s enduring admiration for Diana, which one source describes as an "obsession." Over time, he has elevated her memory, venerating her almost saint-like, an outlook that intensified following the eulogy he delivered at her funeral in 1997.
Before Diana's rise to international prominence, her elder sisters had distinct ties to the British royal family. Most notably, in the 1970s, Sarah McCorquodale was romantically linked with Prince Charles. Their connection emerged in 1977 when Sarah stayed at Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot, leading to public speculation about her potentially becoming the prince’s future wife. Their relationship reportedly developed over the following months, with Charles visiting Sarah’s family home at Althorp and the two being seen together at several social occasions, including skiing in Klosters and riding with Queen Elizabeth II at Sandringham.
In early 1978, Sarah met the Queen during a visit to Sandringham, an interaction interpreted by some as the monarch gauging her suitability as a royal bride for her son. Despite growing media interest and being labeled as Charles’s “favourite girlfriend,” Sarah publicly denied any engagement prospects, emphasizing her stance that she would only marry for love, and stating that Charles was not ready for marriage. Prince Charles is said to have expressed some displeasure over her candid remarks, though their friendship endured.
The royal courtship narratives shifted by the end of the decade. Sarah’s engagement to Neil McCorquodale in August 1979 effectively ended her potential royal prospects. Meanwhile, Jane Fellowes quietly married Robert Fellowes in 1978, linking her closely to the royal household through her husband’s role as a senior adviser to Queen Elizabeth II. Diana maintained close ties with both sisters, with Sarah later referring to herself jokingly as having “played Cupid” in introducing Diana to Charles.
The family’s connection to the royal circle was poignant during the aftermath of Diana’s tragic death in 1997. Sarah and Jane were with Charles at the hospital in Paris following the fatal car crash, a moment captured by the press as they prepared to accompany Diana’s coffin back to the United Kingdom. Nearly 20 years after her relationship with Prince Charles first made headlines, Sarah’s role in those final hours highlighted the enduring bonds between the siblings and the prince.
At Diana’s funeral, speakers included both Sarah and Jane, who chose to offer readings reflecting on loss and hope, contrasting with the more confrontational tone adopted by Diana’s younger brother, Earl Spencer. Their measured presence underscored their later roles in mediating between the grieving family and the royal household.
Nearly three decades after Diana’s death, the early connections of her sisters to the royal family remain a lesser-known but significant aspect of the Spencer family’s complex relationship with the monarchy.