Princess Diana’s eldest sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 70, has been hospitalized after suffering serious injuries in a horse-riding accident.

Challenging recovery
The accident, which reportedly happened “within the past month,” was confirmed by her brother, Earl Spencer, during an episode of the podcast Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth.

“Sarah, who is almost a decade older than me and has always had a knack for getting into trouble, had a really bad fall last month and has been in hospital for some time,” he said.

Earl Spencer described her recovery as challenging, noting that medical staff have found Lady Sarah to be a “demanding patient” during her hospitalization. He recounted how the lead physician approached his brother-in-law, Neil McCorquodale, with what he described as diplomatic language:

“The lead doctor said to my brother-in-law, ‘She’s quite a character, isn’t she?’, which I think is code for, ‘Could you take her home?’”

Dated King Charles
Despite the accident, Lady Sarah’s resilience has always been a hallmark of her character. Known for her close ties to the royal family, she once briefly dated the then-Prince Charles and later facilitated his introduction to her younger sister, Diana — a connection that would ultimately lead to one of the most significant royal marriages of the 20th century.

As the maternal aunt to Prince William and Prince Harry, Lady Sarah has maintained strong family bonds over the years. She has remained connected to aristocratic circles through her marriage to landowner Neil McCorquodale while leading a relatively private life compared to her late sister’s global fame.

Earl Spencer also shared the ongoing challenges of navigating public fascination with Diana’s legacy, expressing discomfort with strangers approaching him to recount where they were when they learned of her death:

“I tell you what I do find quite difficult, it probably sounds ungracious, but occasionally total strangers come up and feel they must tell me where they were when they heard she died. I’m sure that’s helpful to them, it’s not entirely helpful to everyone else.”

“I was very anti-it”
He described a recent encounter with an American woman who “clutched me to her ample bosom and said that I may have thought I grew up with Diana, but actually she did in South Dakota.”

Lady Sarah’s accident comes as the Spencer family continues to reflect on Diana’s life and legacy. Earl Spencer marks each anniversary of his sister’s death by visiting her burial site at Althorp estate with his children, gathering flowers for her grave.

He also revisited past controversies surrounding Diana’s funeral, particularly the decision that required Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, to walk behind their mother’s coffin. Earl Spencer recalled:

“I was very anti-it. I thought it was terrible. It wasn’t [Prince Philip’s] decision to do it. But, actually, on the day, he was a calming presence.”

Prince Harry later shared in his memoir Spare that his uncle condemned the arrangement at the time as a “barbarity” and refused an alternative proposal for William to walk alone.

Despite these family and public pressures, Lady Sarah has remained a strong, unyielding presence. Known for her adventurous spirit, she continues to ride horses even in her 70s — a passion that unfortunately led to her recent hospitalization.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Lady Sarah McCorquodale for a full and speedy recovery!