Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (born 11 February 1957) is the older sister of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

.

Early life

Lady Fellowes was born The Honourable Cynthia Jane Spencer. Her title changed to The Lady Cynthia Jane Spencer in 1975, when her grandfather
Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer , styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and as Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as "Jack" Spencer, was a British peer...

 died and her father became the 8th Earl Spencer. She has always used her middle name of Jane (just as her elder sister also uses one of her middle names). One of Jane's godparents is Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
The Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961. The Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63...

. Like her sisters, Lady Fellowes was educated at West Heath
The New School at West Heath
The New School at West Heath is an independent school in Sevenoaks, in southeast England. It caters for children for whom mainstream schooling has become insufficient, for varying reasons...

 boarding school near Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. Sources say she was an excellent student, achieving the status of school Prefect and passing a good number of A-level exams. To paraphrase Andrew Morton
Andrew Morton (writer)
Andrew David Morton is a former British Fleet Street journalist, a notable writer and biographer.Before moving into a career in journalism, he attended grammar school, then studied history at the University of Sussex....

, Lady Fellowes acquired a "hatful" of O-level and A-level exams. Her successful exams suggest that she is the most academically gifted of the three sisters.

Personality

In contrast to her lively siblings, Jane is noted for being the quiet one of the four Spencer children. She has been described by close friends of Diana as "quiet and unassuming." Despite her reserved nature, she and her elder sister, the more outspoken Lady Sarah McCorquodale
Lady Sarah McCorquodale
The Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale is the older sister of Diana, Princess of Wales.-Early life:Sarah was born The Honourable Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer; she acquired the courtesy title The Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer in 1975, when her grandfather died and her father became...

 are exceptionally close, especially given the situations that threw them together, the two eldest in the family.

Family

In March 1978, Jane married her distant relation Robert Fellowes
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, GCB, GCVO, QSO, PC is a former Private Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1990–1999, and is also known as a brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales.-Family background:...

 (b. 1941), then assistant private secretary to the Queen. During the ceremony at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

, Jane's sister Diana was a bridesmaid.

In June 1999, Robert Fellowes was granted a Life Peerage as Baron Fellowes, of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk, after first being knighted as Sir Robert Fellowes.

Lord and Lady Fellowes have three children, who all bear the style of "The Honourable" since June 1999 as the children of a Life Peer:
  • The Honourable Laura Jane Fellowes (born 19 July 1980) Married Nick Pettman (May 30, 2009)
  • The Honourable Alexander Robert Fellowes (born 23 March 1983)
  • The Honourable Eleanor Ruth Fellowes (born 20 August 1985)


These children are first cousins of Prince William and Prince Harry
Prince Harry of Wales
Prince Henry of Wales , commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...

 on the maternal side, and according to some news reports, are close friends of their Royal cousins.

Lady Diana Spencer came up to Scotland in the summer of 1980 to help her sister with her newborn daughter Laura Jane, and during that time, was allegedly courted by the Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

.

Relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales

Lady Fellowes is the only member of the Spencer family who has never spoken to the media about the death of Diana
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Fayed's...

 or her life. After Diana's death, conflicting views about the two sisters' relationship have been voiced by different people. Diana's butler Paul Burrell
Paul Burrell
Paul Burrell, RVM is a former servant of the British Royal Household. He was a footman for Queen Elizabeth II and later butler to Diana, Princess of Wales...

 stated that the relationship was strained because of Lord Fellowes's position as secretary to the Queen and that by the time of Diana's death they had not even spoken in a number of years.
On the other hand, Diana's childhood nanny, Mary Clarke, author of memoirs about the nanny's experience raising Diana and her three Spencer siblings, stated that the relations between the Baroness and Diana were not as bitter as Burrell and others have said or assumed. It is not clear when their relationship deteriorated (if it did), but the sisters were neighbours on the Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...

 estate, with Diana living at Numbers 8 and 9, and Lady Fellowes living at a house called the Old Barracks.

Sarah
Lady Sarah McCorquodale
The Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale is the older sister of Diana, Princess of Wales.-Early life:Sarah was born The Honourable Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer; she acquired the courtesy title The Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer in 1975, when her grandfather died and her father became...

 and Lady Fellowes flew to Paris along with their former brother-in-law Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

 to escort Diana's body back for the public funeral
Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
The public funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales started on September 6, 1997 at 9:08 am in London, when the tenor bell sounded to signal the departure of the cortege from Kensington Palace. The coffin was carried from the palace on a gun carriage, along Hyde Park to St. James' Palace, where...

. Many witnesses reported that Lady Fellowes was very upset and needed to be assisted into a chair after seeing Diana's body at the hospital in Paris. Both sisters played a part in the public funeral ceremony. Since Diana's death, Lord and Lady Fellowes have led a largely private life along with their three children. Lady Fellowes also attended the wedding of her nephew Prince William to Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton
Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their...

 on 29 April 2011.

Quotes

"I'm afraid that's it, she's dead." according to a 1998 interview with brother Earl Spencer, when she broke the news to him Diana had died.

Ancestry



External links

  • Paul Theroff, Marlborough website, showing the descendants of the Spencer-Churchills and Spencers.
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