In season four ofThe Crown, we briefly meet Sarah Spencer, Princess Diana’s older sister.
Who was Sarah Spencer in real life?
Did she and Prince Charles actually date before he married her sister?
And what was her relationship withPrincess Dianareally like?
Here’s the truth about Sarah Spencer.
Her sister, Jane Spencer, was born in1957, and Diana Spencer followed in1961.
It’s safe to say that Sarah enjoyed a seriously privileged childhood.
At this point, Sarah would have been 14 years old.
Althorp is even larger than Park House.
Dating back to 1508, the mansion features 90 rooms and 550 private acres of land.
It’s clear that the Spencer girls grew up in the lap of luxury.
In fact, John Spencer encouraged all of his children to work for their own living as young adults.
Sarah explained that, like Diana Spencer, she spent her late teens and early 20s working.
“My father owned a house which I ran and I had tenants.
I took money from them.”
She also paid the bills, got insurance coverage, and handled other related tasks.
It sounds like Sarah and her sisters were pretty self-sufficient young women, albeit privileged as well.
After that, the couple spent more and more time together.
Sarah was even invited to visit Balmoral by the Queen.
Apparently, they went on a holiday together to Klosters, a Swiss ski resort.
InThe Crown, it seems as though Prince Charles’s feelings for Sarah simply fizzled.
The interviewer spoke toThe Mirrorabout his infamous 1978 interview with Sarah.
He recalled that Sarah “was disarmingly frank about her boyfriend.”
The interview subsequently appeared inWoman’s Ownand contained some surprisingly frank statements.
“Charles makes me laugh a lot,” Sarah shared.
“I really enjoy being with him.”
However, she added, “There is no chance of my marrying him.
I’m not in love with him.”
It seems there may be some truth inThe Crown’s portrayal.
In a 1981 article inThe Guardianabout the royal couple, Sarah said, “I introduce them.
I’m Cupid.”
The couple had three children: George, Celia, and Emily.
In fact, he was even given the nickname “Action Man.”
Plus, the young prince was infamous for his long string of casual girlfriends (viaExpress).
It sounds as though Sarah preferred to settle down with a man who lived at a slower pace!
In 1993, for instance, Sarah joined Princess Diana on a visit to Nepal.
Princess Diana had worn the same suit two years earlier during her second official tour of Australia.
The royal had been pictured in the same dress seven years earlier during a tour of the Gulf states.
There are plenty of other outfits that Princess Diana shared with her sister.
And as she wasfamous for her fashion, we can’t think of a better closet to borrow from!
AfterPrincess Diana and Prince Charles divorced, Sarah remained close to her sister.
“In a way she even encouraged Diana to be wild and to have lovers.”
Apparently, Princess Diana had even called her sister “the only person I know I can trust.”
AsPeoplereported, it left all of Britain “paralyzed with grief.”
A “royal watcher” spoke toPeopleabout how Lady Sarah McCorquodale was coping.
“Sarah looks more tired, more drawn.
She has aged,” they said.
“I think I felt shock, but I don’t think I felt anything else.
Just love and shock,” she recalled.
“I have no idea why but it made me so angry,” Sarah confessed.
What did shock Sarah?
One of thethings we learned after Princess Diana’s deathwas that she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
“She was religious in putting on her seatbelt,” Sarah revealed.
“Why didn’t she put it on that night?
I’ll never know.”
It was Sarah who was responsible for executing Princess Diana’s will (viaCosmopolitan).
Sarah was clear that the documents were all of a personal nature.
“Nothing historical was ever shredded,” she said at the 2008 inquest into Princess Diana’s death.
She added that no letters from Prince Charles had been found or destroyed.
However, the fund came under some public criticism when it accepted some “questionable” endorsements.
In 2011,Expresscalled the fund a “disaster.”
It was also revealed that roughly a third of the money had been wasted on administrative costs.
Apparently, she was even commenting six hours a day to execute the fund!
Apparently, Sarah is thought to be the Spencer relation that they are closest to.
The following year, Sarah and her siblings all attended Prince William’s wedding to Kate (viaE!
Sarah also attended Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.
When Prince Harry’s first son was born in 2019, Sarah was even part of theofficial family portrait.
By the sound of things, her duties consisted ofvisiting local charitiesandattending public events.
In 2010, Sarah also became a joint master of the Belvoir Hunt, according toThe Telegraph.
Occasionally, the master of the hunt attends the hunt to oversee how things go.
Sounds like a just the job for an established member of one of Britain’s most elite families.
