Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale (''née'' Spencer; born 19 March 1955) is one of the two older sisters of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, the other being Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes. For a short period of time, she dated

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

before introducing him to her sister Diana.

Early life

Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer was born with the honorific "The Honourable"; she acquired the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

"Lady" in 1975, when her grandfather died and her father became the 8th Earl Spencer. She suffered from the eating disorder

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

in her early twenties. She was educated first at Riddlesworth Hall School in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and, secondly, at West Heath boarding school near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. After finishing school, she went to work in London.

Family

Sarah married Neil Edmund

McCorquodale McCorquodale is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin. The name originates from Argyll in the West Highlands. People with the surname ''McCorquodale'' British family: * George McCorquodale (1817–1895), founder of McCorquodale printers. ** Ge ...

(born 4 October 1951), son of

Alastair McCorquodale Alastair McCorquodale (5 December 1925 – 27 February 2009) was a British Athletics (sport), athlete and cricketer. His son is married to Princess Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Sarah Spencer. McCorquodale was educated at Harrow ...

and Rosemary Sybil Turnor, on 17 May 1980 in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Neil is a second cousin once removed of Lady Sarah's stepmother, Raine Spencer. Neil is also half fourth cousin to Lady Sarah through the Pagets and the Curzons. Neil and Lady Sarah McCorquodale have three children: *Emily Jane McCorquodale (2 July 1983); she married James T. R. Hutt on 9 June 2012. They have two children. *George Edmund McCorquodale (17 November 1984); he married Bianca Moore, daughter of Gavin Moore, on 6 August 2016 in South Africa. They have three children. *Celia Rose McCorquodale (1989); she married George Woodhouse on 16 June 2018 at St Andrew and St Mary's Church, Stoke Rochford,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. For her wedding, Celia wore the Spencer Tiara, which her mother and aunts Jane and Diana wore on their wedding days. They have two children. Lady Sarah is the aunt to

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

, and

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to t ...

Career

She and her family reside near

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

, where she served a one-year term as

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

in 2009. She became a master of the Belvoir Hunt in May 2010. Lady Sarah was also president of the

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was an independent grant-giving foundation established in September 1997 after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, to continue her humanitarian work in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was a reg ...

, which raised over £112 million for various charities, before closing in 2012. The Fund unsuccessfully took legal action in 1998 against the Franklin Mint over the unlicensed use of Diana's image.

Relationships

Charles, Prince of Wales

In 1977, Lady Sarah's relationship with

led to the first meeting between Diana and her future husband. Lady Sarah later commented on her sister's marriage, saying: "I introduced them. I'm

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

." During the period in which Lady Sarah dated the Prince, she allegedly met two reporters, James Whittaker and Nigel Nelson, at a restaurant, and gave them an exclusive report on her royal connection. Lady Sarah is said to have admitted to having been diagnosed with anorexia, having "thousands of boyfriends," a past problem involving alcohol, and having started keeping a scrapbook of all the press clippings about her royal romance that she intended to "show" future grandchildren. "Her head seemed to be turned by the publicity," the two reporters later said. Lady Sarah also declared that she would not marry Charles "if he were the dustman or the King of England." When the article was released, Lady Sarah showed it to the prince, who was infuriated by it. The relationship dissolved soon after that. Some have stated the relationship between her and Diana was strained, because of her long resentment of the Prince marrying Diana and not her, though others (including Diana's biographer Andrew Morton) have said Lady Sarah was one of the few people Diana trusted. Later in their lives, Lady Sarah often accompanied Diana on official visits as one of her ladies-in-waiting. Upon the death of Diana on 31 August 1997, Lady Sarah flew to Paris with her younger sister, Jane, and Prince Charles to accompany Diana's body back to England. She contributed to the readings at Diana's funeral. Lady Sarah was also co-executor of Diana's will and president of the

. Lady Sarah attended the wedding of her nephew Prince William to Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. It is said that William and

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

are close to Lady Sarah, with whom they spent a weekend on the 16th anniversary of Diana's death. Lady Sarah also attended the wedding of her other nephew, Prince Harry, to Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018.

George Grant huntmaster incident

In 2018, Lady Sarah spoke publicly in support of George Grant, an employee of the Belvoir Hunt whom she had known for 27 years, after he assaulted two hunt monitors. Grant, along with his son and other men, assaulted the hunt monitors who were affiliated with the League Against Cruel Sports. Lady Sarah, who served as joint master of the Belvoir Hunt, claimed that Grant's actions were out of character.

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Lady Sarah McCorquodale picture
' Lady Sarah McCorquodale leaving the high court at her sisters (Diana, Princess of Wales) inquest. *
Lady Sarah McCorquodale photo
The Princess Royal and Lady Sarah McCorquodale during the prize giving ceremony at Burghley Horse Trials. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCorquodale, Sarah 1955 births Living people

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

Sarah McCorquodale British ladies-in-waiting Daughters of British earls Place of birth missing (living people) High sheriffs of Lincolnshire People from Stoke Rochford