As Lady Sarah McCorquodale celebrates 44 years of marriage today, viewers may wonder if she is reflecting on how different her life could have been.
Because Princess Diana’s older sister once dated Prince Charles: she dated the heir to the throne two years before her sister.
In fact, Lady Sarah, 69, even introduced Diana to Charles and says she played “Cupid” for the couple.
But it was Lady Sarah Spencer, 22, a willowy redhead with a great sense of fun, who first caught Prince Charles’ attention at a party at Windsor Castle for Royal Ascot.
Prince Charles talks to Lady Sarah Spencer at a polo match in Windsor, 1977
The Prince of Wales playing polo with Princess Diana’s sister Lady Sarah, whom he dated in 1977.
“Prince Charles enjoyed Sarah’s irreverent spark and wit and they made each other laugh,” says Sarah Bradford, author of Diana: Finally, the Whole Story.
Their romance involved polo matches and an invitation to Balmoral, but it was after a ski trip to Klosters in 1978 that Sarah made the mistake that would end their relationship.
In a surprisingly candid interview with Woman’s Own, Bradford’s biography reports that Sarah declared, “I’m not in love with Prince Charles.”
“I’m a fast-paced lady, as opposed to someone who engages in slow-moving courtships.”
“I can assure you that if there was any engagement between Prince Charles and me, it would have happened by now.”
Time magazine also reported that Sarah said, “Charles makes me laugh a lot.” “I really enjoy being with him,” but she said there was “no chance” of marrying him.
‘I’m not in love with him. And I wouldn’t marry anyone I didn’t love, whether it was the dustbin or the king of England.
Princess Diana at Charles Spencer’s 21st party with Prince Charles and her sisters, Lady Sarah (far right) and Lady Jane Fellowes.
Sarah is known for her love of cigarettes, seen here on Kensington Roof Gardens in 1979.
Earl Spencer and his first wife with Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, at Westminster Abbey after the christening of their daughter Sarah, 1955
Sarah also described Charles as a “romantic who falls in love easily” and revealed that despite their closeness, she always called him “sir.”
Naturally upset by her revelations, Charles allegedly told Sarah she had done something “stupid” and their relationship came to an end.
However, there were no hard feelings and Sarah later took pride in being Diana and Charles’ matchmaker.
The couple met at a dance at Althorp, the Spencer family estate, when Diana was just 16 years old.
“I introduced them, I’m Cupid,” Sarah is reported to have said.
It seems that for Sarah, a more humble marriage to a wealthy Lincolnshire farmer, rather than toiling on the royal front, was the true path to happiness.
Her husband, Neil McCorquodale, now 73, is “solid, very stable, reserved, calm and with a good sense of humor,” according to Sally Bedell Smith, author of Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess.
The former Coldstream Guards officer was the perfect match for Sarah, who, according to Bedell Smith, “was enthusiastic and enterprising, with an unpredictable streak.”
So on May 17, 1980, the couple married in a modest ceremony at St Mary’s Church, near Althorp, the Spencers’ ancestral seat in Northamptonshire.
Lady Sarah, wearing a lace dress with a high neck and peplum detail, held a modest bouquet of seasonal white flowers and finished off her look with the Spencer family diamond tiara.
Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Lady Sarah Chatto), was a bridesmaid.
After marriage, Lady Sarah and Diana remained close: the sisters went on vacation with their children and Sarah even became one of Diana’s bridesmaids from 1992 to 1997.
It was a reversal of the dynamic from her childhood in which Diana doted on her older sister, even being a cleaner at a rental house Sarah managed for her father.
Lady Sarah with Neil McCorquodale, whom she married in May 1980
Lady Sarah Spencer married Neil McCorquodale at St Mary’s Church, near Althorp, on 17 May 1980. Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones (back row) was bridesmaid.
The christening of Emily Jane McCorquodale, in the arms of Lady Sarah, in Lincolnshire
Both sisters remained close after marriage and often spent holidays together. Above: Lady Sarah (right) with her famous sister at Wimbledon, 1981
Princess Diana laughing with her two sisters, Lady Sarah and Lady Jane Fellowes, 1995
Sarah’s support may have even extended to turning a blind eye to the ups and downs of Diana’s love life. In 1998, Princess Diana biographer Judy Wade told People magazine: “I think Sarah knew about Diana’s adventures.
“In a way, it even encouraged Diana to be wild and have lovers.”
In fact, Diana once called Sarah “the only person I know I can trust.”
The closeness between the sisters was evident even after Diana’s death, when Lady Sarah read a poem at Diana’s funeral, acted as co-executor of Diana’s will, and became chair of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund until It closed in 2012.
Today, Sarah and Neil live near Grantham, Lincolnshire, where, in 2009, she served a one-year term as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.
And it seems Sarah is in no rush to give up her reputation for being a bit wild – her friends and family celebrated her 60th birthday with a huge cake in the shape of a Silk Cut packet in tribute to her love of cigarettes.
Their three adult children, Emily, 40, George, 39, and Celia, 35, are close to their Windsor cousins.
Sarah’s daughter Emily married George Woodhouse in Lincolnshire, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle among the wedding guests. Above: The special day of 2018
Neil McCorquodale and Lady Sarah McCorquodale attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, May 2018
And Sarah and her other sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, are regular figures in William and Harry’s lives: Sarah was at both of their weddings, as well as the baptism of Harry’s son, Archie, in 2019.
In fact, Harry is believed to particularly identify with his Spencer family.
Ingrid Seward, royal commentator and editor of Majesty magazine, says Harry is “extremely proud of his Spencer heritage.”
‘Harry not only looks very Spencer with his red hair, but he also calls his aunts Sarah and Jane his “red aunts.”‘
She told the Telegraph’The Spencer family [is] Known for being blunt, all action, leading with the heart, not the head.’