Lady Anne Glenconner has defended Princess Diana's stepmother, Raine, Countess Spencer, offering a very different perspective on the woman portrayed in an unflattering light in Earl Spencer's recent memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
The royal confidante, who knew Raine personally, recalled her generosity and the important role she played in the life of Diana's father, John, 8th Earl Spencer, even crediting her with saving his life.
The 94-year-old also revealed a surprising detail about Raine's relationship with Diana, explaining that despite their famously difficult history, the pair eventually became close friends.
"I liked her. I was godmother to her daughter, Charlotte, and she was godmother to my daughter May, and she was very generous to her," Lady Glenconner told HELLO!.
"I think from the children's point of view, she probably was difficult, but she was wonderful with Johnnie [Earl Spencer] – she saved his life when he was ill. And then, interestingly, she became great friends with Diana."
Diana and the Spencer family
Princess Diana was the youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and his first wife, Frances. She had two older sisters, Jane and Sarah, and a younger brother Charles. When Diana was six, her parents decided to divorce, leading to a bitter dispute over custody won by her father.
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When Diana turned 14, her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, and the family moved to their ancestral home, Althorp. In 1976, he married Raine, then Countess of Dartmouth, who became Diana's stepmother.
Raine's relationship with the Spencer children was famously strained, although, as Lady Glenconner recalled, she and Diana grew closer in later years.
Lady Glenconner's close ties with the royal family
Lady Glenconner's insight comes from a lifetime spent within royal circles. She was a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth II at her 1953 coronation and attended King Charles' coronation in 2023, making her one of the few people to have witnessed both historic occasions.
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Her family friendship with the royals goes back decades: her mother, Elizabeth, Countess of Leicester, was a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth and her father, the 5th Earl of Leicester, was an equerry to King George VI, while Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother all attended her wedding to Colin in 1956.
Anne became a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret in 1971, and the pair got along swimmingly; Trunks and Tiaras is a love letter of sorts to their decades-long friendship.
"I really loved her and she was a wonderful friend to me," she added to HELLO!. "People said she was spoilt and difficult – I never found that. I just used to be amused. What people forget was that when she was young, her father was emperor of half the world, so her family was terribly grand. People thought she ought to behave like them.
"Well, she didn't! I indulged her a bit but there were moments when I didn't. I always managed to get her to do everything she should be doing."