Raine, Countess Spencer
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Raine Spencer, Countess Spencer ( McCorquodale; 9 September 1929 – 21 October 2016) was a British socialite and local politician. She was the daughter of Alexander McCorquodale and the romantic novelist and socialite Barbara Cartland and the stepmother 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 Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
.


Early years

Raine McCorquodale was the only child of novelist Barbara Cartland and Alexander George
McCorquodale McCorquodale is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin. The name originates from Argyll in the West Highlands. People with the surname ''McCorquodale'' British family: * George McCorquodale (1817–1895), founder of McCorquodale printers. ** Ge ...
of Speen in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, an Army officer who was heir to an old
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
fortune. Her parents divorced in 1936, and her mother promptly married Alexander's cousin, Hugh McCorquodale, by whom she had two sons, Ian and Glen.


Countess of Dartmouth

In 1947, 18-year-old Raine McCorquodale was launched as a
debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...
into London high society. She had a successful season, not only being named debutante of the year, but becoming engaged to be married to the heir to an earldom, Gerald Humphry Legge. She and Legge married on 21 July 1948. He succeeded to the
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...
Viscount Lewisham in 1958 and became the 9th Earl of Dartmouth in 1962. The couple had four children: * William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth (23 September 1949). He married Fiona Campbell in June 2009. They have one son. * The Hon. Rupert Legge (1 January 1953). He married Victoria S. Ottley in 1984. They have two children. * Lady Charlotte Legge (16 July 1963). She married Don Alessandro Paternò Castello, 13th Duke of Carcaci on 19 December 1990. They have three children. * The Hon. Henry Legge (28 December 1968). He married Cressida Hogg (daughter of Sir Christopher Anthony Hogg) on 21 December 1995. They have three daughters. Following her marriage, Lady Dartmouth began to take a strong interest in politics. At age 23, she became the youngest member of
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...
as a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, working from her home in
Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...
. As Lady Lewisham, and later Lady Dartmouth, she remained in local government for the following 17 years. She sat on Westminster's town planning, parks and personnel committees, and was later elected to represent Lewisham South on the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
, then
Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...
on the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
. In this capacity she took a special interest in environmental planning and ancient buildings. She chaired the Covent Garden Development Committee and the government working party for the
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, during June 5–16, 1972. When the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene the 1972 Stockholm Conference, taking up the offer of the Government of S ...
in Stockholm. In 1973, she began an affair with John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, her colleague on an architectural heritage committee. The Earl and Countess of Dartmouth were consequently divorced in 1976.


Countess Spencer

Viscount Althorp succeeded his father as the 8th Earl Spencer on 9 June 1975. The Earl Spencer and Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, were married at Caxton Hall, London, on 14 July 1976. As Countess Spencer, Raine was unpopular with her stepdaughter Lady Diana Spencer and her siblings, who referred to their stepmother as "Acid Raine". In 1978, Lord Spencer suffered a brain haemorrhage; his wife nursed him, and his recovery is credited to her care and devotion coupled with the use of an untested drug. Following her husband's illness, Lady Spencer was widely criticised by the press and conservationists for her redecoration of Althorp, the Spencer family seat; it was felt that the heavy use of new gilding and wallpapers failed to compensate for the missing treasures which included, besides properties and land, works by
Sir Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...
and
Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...
, furniture, china, porcelain, silver, gold, and family documents sold to fund the project and necessary restoration of the house. The Earl fully endorsed and assisted in his wife's alteration to Althorp and fund-raising activities. However, this was not enough to stop Earl Spencer's son and heir, Charles, Viscount Althorp (later the ninth Earl) from describing his stepmother's taste in decoration as having "the wedding cake vulgarity of a five-star hotel in Monaco." Lord and Lady Spencer led an opulent lifestyle, entertaining frequently and generously, and travelling greatly. In February 1981, they became globally known following the engagement of Lady Spencer's stepdaughter Diana to
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
. The Countess attended their wedding in 1981, but was not seated with her husband: while the Earl and Mrs Shand Kydd and their other children sat opposite the Royal Family, the Countess and Mr Shand Kydd, the bride's step-father, were both seated in the congregation. Countess Spencer did not appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the ceremony. When Lord Spencer died on 29 March 1992, the dowager Countess and her former stepchildren had a poor relationship. Just two days later, on 31 March 1992, her former stepson – the new Earl Spencer – threw Raine out of the manor house on Althorp. Raine was not allowed to take a single item unless she could prove that the item belonged to her and all of her staff were fired without notice. Diana stood guard in person in the Spencer bedroom and watched as maid Pauline Shaw put the Countess's extensive clothing in four
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
suitcases. When Diana discovered the embossed capital letter "S" on the suitcases, she decided that these suitcases also belonged to the Spencers. At Diana's instruction, the maid hastily unpacked the multi-piece designer wardrobe and instead stowed it in black garbage bags. The young earl kicked all of the sacks down the stairs. She received a £4 million inheritance and a
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...
in London's
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
from her husband.


Comtesse de Chambrun

In July 1993, Raine Spencer married a third husband, Count Jean-François Pineton de Chambrun (a descendant of the
Marquis de La Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...
and a member of a prominent French family related to the American
Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...
), after a 33-day courtship. They married in a civil ceremony in London. The Count, a younger son of Jean-Pierre Pineton de Chambrun, Marquis de Chambrun (a deaf biochemist-artist), was previously married to an American, Josalee Douglas, a niece of US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Lewis Williams Douglas. The Countess again attracted charges of vulgarity in Britain when it was discovered that pictures of the wedding had been sold to ''Hello'' magazine for a reputed £70,000. Diana and her siblings did not attend the wedding ceremony. It was at this time that, while none of her former Spencer stepchildren attended this wedding, it was claimed that there was a ''rapprochement'' between her and the Princess of Wales. The de Chambruns' marriage was short-lived and the couple were divorced in 1995. Styled since the marriage as Comtesse Jean-François Pineton de Chambrun, Raine chose to revert to her previous surname and style of Raine, Countess Spencer, despite this being against convention.


Later life

During Diana's divorce from Prince Charles, she and Raine reportedly reconciled and grew closer, and the two were frequently photographed meeting for lunch. Diana's relationship with her mother Frances Shand Kydd had been strained; Diana and her mother had not communicated for several months before Diana died. In December 2007, Spencer was again featured in the news, giving evidence at the London inquest into Diana's death. Making a rare public comment on her relationship with her former stepdaughter, she said: "
iana The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Internet P ...
always said I had no hidden agenda. So many people, because she was so popular and so world famous, wanted something out of her. It was a very draining life." Later she told the court, "Well, we all want the dark handsome gentleman to walk through the door." Latterly, Spencer was a member of the board of directors of
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
, and occasionally worked in the store, although as she told the inquest "Ironically, I never went shopping in Harrods. It was my husband arl Spencerwho practically lived there." Her principal home was in
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
, London. Spencer died at age 87, following a short illness, on 21 October 2016. No members of the
Spencer family The Spencer family is an Aristocracy (class), aristocratic British family. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles, including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Earl of Sunderland, Sunderland and Earl Spencer (title) ...
attended her funeral. Several months after her death, a selection of her belongings were auctioned off by Christie's, the auction generated £1,905,938 for her family. Spencer is buried at North Sheen Cemetery where in 2021 a headstone was erected.


Titles and styles

*1929–1947: ''Miss'' Raine McCorquodale *1947–1958: '' Mrs Gerald Legge *1958–1962: Viscountess Lewisham *1962–1976: ''The Right Honourable'' The Countess of Dartmouth *1976-1976: Raine, Countess of Dartmouth *1976–1992: ''The Right Honourable'' The Countess Spencer *1992–1993: ''The Right Honourable'' The Dowager Countess Spencer *1993–1995: Comtesse Jean-François Pineton de Chambrun *1995–2016: ''The Right Honourable'' Raine, Countess Spencer


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Raine 1929 births 2016 deaths British countesses British debutantes French countesses Members of the Greater London Council People from Mayfair People from Speen, Berkshire Conservative Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Raine Raine Raine Women councillors in England Burials at North Sheen Cemetery Nobility from London