Before the ‘wedding of the century’ which saw the-then Prince Charles marry the Lady Diana Spencer on July 29, 1980, the future King had embarked on a brief romance which was very close to home – with Diana’s elder sister, the future Lady Sarah McCorquodale.
Looking back to 1977 – the same year that Diana, Princess of Wales’ was said to have been formally introduced to her future husband – Lady Sarah and the future King were becoming fast friends and even travelled to the exclusive Swiss ski resort Klosters together.
As she celebrates her landmark 70th birthday today, who is Lady Sarah and why does she still play such a key role for her nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry?
Very little is known about their short-lived romance, however it is known that Charles was the one to abruptly end the relationship after he caught Lady Sarah chatting to a journalist at the resort.
Journalist James Whittaker, who worked for the Mirror, told the publication: “Sarah was disarmingly frank about her boyfriend and declared she would not marry Charles ‘if he were the dustman or the King of England’.
“That was good news from where I was sitting and Sarah seemed delighted I was so keen to share it with the nation.”
According to James, Charles was unhappy when he found out and reportedly told her, “You have just done something incredibly stupid.”
Just months after their relationship came to an end, Charles began dating her younger sister, Diana. Despite the abrupt end of their relationship, Sarah is known to have granted her blessing over the relationship between her former boyfriend and sister.
It has also been reported that Sarah was the one to set up their first date, later telling The Guardian, “I introduced them, I’m cupid.”
With Diana and Charles marrying shortly after, Lady Sarah went on to marry Neil McCorquodale. Both Prince William and Prince Harry – Diana’s sons with Charles – have remained close to their late mother’s family. Along with her sister, Baroness Jane Fellowes, and younger brother, Charles, Earl Spencer, Lady Sarah can frequently been seen supporting her nephews at royal events.
She also attended both Prince William’s wedding in 2011 and Prince Harry’s wedding in 2018.
