Cynthia Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (''née'' Spencer; born 11 February 1957), is one of the two older sisters of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, the other being Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

Early life and education

Lady Fellowes is the second daughter of Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992), and the Hon. Frances Ruth Burke Roche (1936–2004). Her parents married in 1954 but divorced in 1969. 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, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

. She was a bridesmaid at his 1961

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

Katharine Worsley Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

. Like her sisters, Lady Fellowes was educated at West Heath boarding school near Sevenoaks in Kent. Sources say she was an excellent student, achieving the status of school

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

and passing a good number of

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

exams. To paraphrase Andrew Morton, Lady Fellowes acquired a "hatful" of

O-level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-dept ...

and A-level exams.

Marriage and children

On 20 April 1978, Jane married her distant relation Robert Fellowes (b. 1941), then assistant private secretary to the Queen. During the ceremony at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, Jane's sister Diana was a bridesmaid. On 12 July 1999, Robert Fellowes was granted a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...

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 and four grandchildren: *The Honourable Laura Jane Fellowes (19 July 1980); married Nicholas Peter Pettman on 30 May 2009. The couple has two sons. *The Honourable Alexander Robert Fellowes (23 March 1983); married Alexandra Finlay on 20 September 2013. They have two children: **Robert George Fellowes (10 April 2015) **Rose Jane Fellowes (10 August 2016) *The Honourable Eleanor Ruth Fellowes (20 August 1985) These children are maternal first cousins of Prince William and Prince Harry and also paternal second cousins of

Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III ...

. Laura is godmother to Prince William's daughter, Princess Charlotte.

Relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales

After Diana's death, conflicting views about the two sisters' relationship were voiced. Diana's butler Paul Burrell 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 spoken in a number of years. On the other hand, Diana's childhood nanny, Mary Clarke, author of memoirs about her experience raising Diana, stated that the relations between Lady Fellowes 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 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 currently the official L ...

estate, with Diana living at numbers 8 and 9, and Lady Fellowes living at a house called the Old Barracks. Lady Fellowes and her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale flew to Paris with their former brother-in-law

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

to escort the Princess's body back for the public funeral. 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. Lady Sarah and Lady Fellowes 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 attended the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. She also attended the wedding of Prince Harry and

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

on 19 May 2018, at which she delivered a reading.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellowes, Jane 1957 births Living people Jane Fellowes Spouses of life peers Daughters of British earls British baronesses Wives of knights