Who is Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Princess Diana's Sister and King Charles's Ex-Girlfriend?
Before Diana, 22-year-old Lady Sarah Spencer was the apple of Charles's eye.
Recently, Lady Sarah McCorquodale celebrated her 44th wedding anniversary with her husband Neil McCorquodale. Before Neil, Sarah had quite the famous ex-boyfriend back in the '70s: King Charles, who was then known as Prince Charles, the world's most eligible bachelor. To add to the lore, Lady Sarah McCorquodale née Lady Sarah Spencer was the older sister of Charles's first wife Princess Diana.
Before Sarah's quiet life in the Lincolnshire countryside, the elder Spencer sister briefly dated the heir to the throne in 1977. They met at a house party at Windsor Castle during the Royal Ascot. From then, the pair were seen at polo matches and Sarah reportedly bagged an invitation to Balmoral. According to biographer Sarah Bradford, writer of Diana: Finally, the Complete Story, "Prince Charles enjoyed Sarah's sparkiness and irreverent wit and they made each other laugh."
However, during an interview with Woman's Own, Lady Sarah proved to be rather loose-lipped when she declared that she wasn't in love with Charles. Bradford details what Sarah said during the interview with the outlet.
"I'm not in love with Prince Charles," Sarah said. She also adds that she needs a little more excitement for her romantic endeavors.
"I'm a whirlwind sort of lady, as opposed to a person who goes in for slow-developing courtships," Sarah reportedly said. "I can assure you that if there was to be any engagement between Prince Charles and myself, then it would have happened by now."
This brief relationship was even documented in the fourth season of The Crown where Sarah was played by Isobel Eadie.
According to The Daily Mail, Sarah also described Charles as a "romantic who falls in love easily" and always called him "sir," which is rather formal for a romantic relationship.
Time Magazine revealed that Sarah said that Charles had quite a sense of humor. "Charles makes me laugh a lot. I really enjoy being with him," Sarah said per the magazine. But she didn't want a future with the to-be King of England. Rather bluntly, Sarah said, "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 was the dustman or the King of England,” she added. During the interview, she also mentions that Charles was "a romantic who falls in love easily."
This revealing interview didn't sit well with Charles. According to royal biographer Tina Brown, the young Prince told Sarah, “You’ve just done something extremely stupid.”
Judging from her long and lasting relationship with Neil McCorquodale, Sarah still got her happily ever after, and even claims she played "cupid" for Diana and Charles.
Her wedding to McCorquodale was a simple affair at St Mary's Church near Althorp where Princess Margaret's daughter Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Lady Sarah Chatto) was her bridesmaid.
The McCorquodales have three children Emily, 40, George, 39, and Celia, 35, who, according to The Daily Mail, are close with their cousins, William and Harry.
After Diana's marriage to Charles, the two sisters stayed close and would holiday with their children together. Sarah was even her sister's lady-in-waiting between 1992 and 1997 and continued to support Diana throughout the marital difficulties with Charles. The Daily Mail states that Diana referred to Sarah as "the only person I know I can trust."
She stayed fairly close to the British royal family and was invited to numerous royal functions including Prince William and Princess Kate's wedding in 2011. She was even listed on the official birth announcement of her nephew's son, Archie.
After Diana's death, Lady Sarah was the president of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, a charity created to honor Diana’s humanitarian work. Though it closed in 2012, the organization raised over £100 million for charities across the world.
