Spencers step into the spotlight: How Princess Diana's nephews are quietly making their mark on high society

They may not have the palaces, the titles or the rolling red carpets, but a new generation of Princess Diana’s extended family is making its mark in the upper echelons of British society.

First came the society wedding of Felix McCorquodale, 31, a relative of the late Princess, to Lily Coleman, 28, daughter of former tennis star Annabel Croft, 60.

Then, at the weekend, Prince Harry enjoyed a rather more down-to-earth outing, watching Leicester Tigers take on Gloucester alongside his cousin George McCorquodale, 41, son of Diana’s elder sister, Lady Sarah, 71.

The appearances offer a glimpse of the wider Spencer family network, whose members have largely shunned the limelight despite their impressive social connections.

For Harry, whose relationship with the House of Windsor has been strained, the bond with his mother’s side of the family remains a tangible link to his past.

And while the world has long been fascinated by the royal soap opera surrounding the two princes, the Spencer family subplot offers intrigue of its own.

The wedding of Lily Coleman and Felix McCorquodale was a talking point among society’s well-connected. The ceremony took place at St Mary’s Church in Battersea before guests headed to Belgravia for a three-course wedding breakfast at a venue associated with Wild by Tart founder Jemima Goldsmith.

Annabel looked glamorous in a burnt-orange dress as she was joined by her son Charlie and his wife, Boodles heiress Honour Wainwright, with their four-month-old daughter Cosima, as well as her daughter Amber Llewellyn, her husband Hector and their 13-month-old son.

Annabel later revealed to the Daily Mail that her late husband, Mel Coleman, an athlete-turned-investment banker who died after a short illness aged 60 three years ago, had given Felix his blessing before his death.

‘He gave permission to my youngest daughter Lily’s boyfriend, Felix,’ she said. ‘One of the things Mel said to him was, “You definitely have my permission to marry Lily.”’

Sports presenter Lily wore two dresses for the occasion: an ivory gown for the ceremony, followed by a feathered minidress and strappy pink shoes for the celebrations.

The wedding brought together two very different but equally well-connected worlds: Lily’s sporting family and Felix’s links to one of Britain’s best-known dynasties.

Felix is a relative of Raine Spencer, Diana’s stepmother, whom the young Spencers reportedly nicknamed ‘Acid Raine’ during their childhood. Raine’s relationship with Diana later softened, and she became one of the Princess’s confidantes.

Harry’s rugby outing, meanwhile, offered a reminder that his connections to the Spencer side of his family have endured long after his departure from royal duties in 2020.

George, who was born just two months apart from Harry, is understood to have shared a close childhood bond with his cousin, with the pair thrown together at family gatherings over the years.

Harry has also remained close to George’s siblings, Celia and Emily. Indeed, he and Meghan attended Celia’s wedding to George Woodhouse in 2018, shortly after their own marriage.

Following the loss of his mother when he was just 12, the Spencer family have remained an important part of Harry’s wider family circle.

Lady Sarah, the eldest of the Spencer siblings, famously dated Prince Charles before her younger sister Diana went on to marry him. She later married Neil McCorquodale, and the couple had three children: George, Celia and Emily.

Sarah was close to Diana and served as her lady-in-waiting. In 1997, she accompanied Prince Charles to Paris to bring her sister’s body home following the fatal car crash.

Both Sarah and her younger sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, have maintained relationships with Diana’s sons. Sarah attended the christenings of Harry’s children, Archie in 2019 and Lilibet in 2023, and was present at the unveiling of Diana’s statue at Kensington Palace in 2021.

She has also supported Harry’s Invictus Games endeavours, attending the event’s tenth-anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2024. Harry paid tribute to his aunt and her support in his memoir, Spare.

He has also maintained a relationship with his maternal uncle, Earl Spencer. During a recent UK visit, Harry and Meghan stayed at Althorp, the family’s ancestral home and the resting place of Diana.

In his moving speech at Diana’s funeral, Earl Spencer spoke of the responsibility he and his family felt towards her sons, pledging to help steer the young princes through life.

Elsewhere in the Spencer dynasty, Diana’s nieces and nephews have forged lives ranging from discreet to decidedly glamorous, with the family name retaining its social cachet.

Lady Kitty Spencer, 35, Earl Spencer’s daughter, is a fixture on the international social scene and has modelled for Dolce & Gabbana. Her brother, Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, is heir to the Spencer title and estate, while their twin sisters, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer, have also stepped into the spotlight.

By contrast, Lady Sarah’s children have largely kept their lives private. Yet when Celia married George Woodhouse in 2018, she wore the Spencer family tiara, a striking reminder of the dynasty’s history and its enduring connections.

For Harry, however, these are more than simply useful links in society.

The Spencers represent a connection to the family life he shared with his mother, before the pressures of royal existence and public scrutiny came to dominate his own story.

His appearance with George at the rugby may have looked like little more than a relaxed night out between cousins. But it also offered a glimpse of a family bond that has endured through years of upheaval.

While the divisions between the Sussexes and the Windsors continue to dominate headlines, Diana’s relatives offer another perspective: the people who knew her not simply as a princess, but as a mother, sister and daughter.

The Spencers may never command the same attention as the Windsors. But as Diana’s younger relatives continue to make their mark on society, and Harry maintains his ties to them, they remain a living connection to the woman whose legacy continues to shape his life.