Fortunately, it seems that the Prince of Wales’ aunt is in high spirits despite her fall, with Earl Spencer joking that she had been a “handful” for her doctors to deal with. “I think, [she] was quite a handful as a patient, because the said doctor said to my brother-in-law, ‘She’s quite a character isn’t she?’ which I think is code for, ‘Could you take her home?’”he revealed, referring to Lady Sarah’s husband, Neil McCorquodale.
Like the rest of the Spencer clan, Lady Sarah McCorquodale has long been a source of great comfort and support for Prince William, as well as for Prince Harry in the wake of his feud with the Windsors. Last September, she supported the Prince of Wales during a visit to his old RAF training ground in Cranwell, Lincolnshire. Lady Sarah had reportedly heard that her nephew was in the area and was keen to show her “support” for William, reported MailOnline’s Rebecca English. She also joined the royal family, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Princess of Wales, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in May.
Born in 1955, Sarah was the first child of John Spencer and Frances Roche. Her sister, Jane, was born two years later, followed by John – who tragically died within 10 hours of his birth in 1960 – then Diana and, finally, Charles, who would go on to become the 9th Earl Spencer. The siblings were raised at Park House, a rented home on the Sandringham estate, and it’s said that Diana played together with Princes Andrew and Edward, who were close to her in age.
Her auspicious meet-cute with Prince Charles came in 1977, when they were introduced at the annual Royal Ascot house party at Windsor. The two began dating soon after and, according to Tina Brown, former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief and author of The Diana Chronicles, Sarah enjoyed the Prince “squiring her around” and received “a flattering stream of invitations to Windsor and Balmoral.” In November that year, Sarah invited Charles to shoot at Althorp, which is when he first captured the heart of the then 16-year-old Diana–although, according to Brown, she registered then “on Charles’ radar only as a jolly and bouncy younger sister of Sarah.”
