She was once called “Acid Raine” by the late Princess of Wales and her sisters and is often viewed as the classic “evil stepmother.”
Raine Spencer married Diana’s father John, Earl Spencer, when the future Princess of Wales was just 15 years old.
The circumstances were traumatic; The Spencer children’s mother, Frances, was gone. So it wasn’t an easy start to the relationship.
More controversy followed, including the sale of heirlooms, including furniture, silver and old masters – including a Van Dyke – to finance a lavish and, in some eyes, unpleasant renovation of Althorp House, the family home.
Raine Spencer met Earl Spencer, Diana’s father, when she was a young Conservative councilor, where she was known for her bouffant hair, pearls and scarves
Pictured in 1957 as Mrs. Raine Legge. The following year she became Viscountess Lewisham and later Lady Dartmouth
Raine was the only daughter of Alexander McCorquodale and the novelist Dame Barbara Cartland. The two are pictured together in 1971
But at some point there would be a rapprochement between Diana and her stepmother, who was herself a remarkable and intelligent person before she died – on this day – in October 2016.
A former IT woman and society belle, Raine Spencer has been a hard-working and committed politician since the age of 23, playing a notable role in local government and the Conservative Party.
Known for her decisive, not to say ruthless, leadership style, Prince Philip is said to have once said: “If you want to organize something, send Raine.”
Countess Spencer, born in 1929, was the only daughter of Alexander McCorquodale, an army officer and heiress to a printing fortune, and – perhaps better known – the romantic writer Dame Barbara Cartland.
Her parents later divorced and her mother married her ex-husband’s cousin, Hugh McCorquodale, and they had two sons.
Even as a girl, Raine moved in sophisticated circles.
“What a pretty baby,” Princess Elizabeth remarked to her governess Marion Crawford when she first saw the child at a children’s tea party in London. ‘What’s her name?’
The future queen was quite taken aback by “Raine”. “What a funny, funny name,” she is said to have replied.
Although Raine was smart, her parents instructed her to hide her intellect on the grounds that it would deter suitable husbands.
In 1947, 18-year-old Raine McCorquodale was introduced to London high society as a debutante, where she had a successful season and was named “Debutante of the Year.”
A year after Princess Elizabeth’s wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh, she married the Honorable Gerald Legge, who soon became Viscount Lewisham and later the 9th Earl of Dartmouth. The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter.
After her marriage, Lady Dartmouth began to take a keen interest in politics and at the age of 23, as a Conservative, she became the youngest member of Westminster City Council.
Eighteen-year-old Raine McCorquodale was launched as a debutante in 1947. Here she is pictured meeting Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in 1956
Raine became deeply interested in politics and, at 23, became the youngest member of Westminster City Council as a Conservative
Pictured: Author Barbara Cartland with her daughter Raine and sons Ian and Glen in 1940
In 1973, after 25 years of marriage to the Earl of Dartmouth, the socialite began a relationship with Earl John Spencer, Diana’s father
As Lady Lewisham and later Lady Dartmouth, she remained in local government for 17 years, sitting on Westminster’s town planning, parks and human resources committees.
In 1973, after 25 years of marriage to the Earl of Dartmouth, the socialite began a relationship with Earl John Spencer, Diana’s father, after meeting him at an architectural heritage committee.
Three years passed before Raine, known for her luscious hair, pearls and scarves, divorced her first husband and two months later married Spencer, who divorced Diana’s mother in 1969.
At first she was notoriously unpopular with her stepdaughter, Lady Diana, and the other girls, Lady Sarah and Lady Jane.
Two years into the new marriage, the Earl was in a coma in London’s Royal Brompton Hospital after a severe stroke. And over the course of many months, it was Raine who slowly nursed him back to health.
Relations between Raine and the rest of the Spencer family seemed to get worse with each passing year.
In 1989, the princess claimed she pushed Raine down the stairs at her brother Charles’ wedding to model Victoria Lockwood.
In 1992, Lord Spencer died of a heart attack aged 68 and Raine moved out of Althorp.
As Countess Spencer, she was notoriously unpopular with her stepdaughter Diana, Princess of Wales, and her siblings
Raine Spencer pictured next to Princess Diana during Earl Spencer’s funeral in Great Brington in April 1992
After the death of Earl Spencer, her second husband, she moved into a smart Georgian house in Mayfair that Johnnie had left her
When leaving the stately home, a maid first packed her clothes into suitcases bearing the Spencer emblem. However, according to The Telegraph, the Princess of Wales objected and demanded that her stepmother’s clothes be put into black bin bags instead.
After the death of Earl Spencer, her second husband, she moved into a smart Georgian house in Mayfair left to her by Johnnie and began to build a new life for herself.
Here she married Count Jean-Francois de Chambrun in 1993, but the marriage only lasted two years. When Raine divorced her third husband, she decided to resume her title as Countess Spencer.
And in these years she once again built a new life, working as a director of Harrods International and also becoming a confidante to the increasingly troubled Princess Diana in her final years.
As the princess grappled with the breakdown of her marriage while estranged from her own mother, Raine had offered her a shoulder to cry on.
She married Count Jean-Francois de Chambrun in 1993, but the marriage only lasted two years
The Countess became a confidante to the increasingly troubled Princess Diana in her final years. Pictured: The late Princess of Wales having lunch with her stepmother at the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair in March 1997
She died on October 21, 2016 after a short illness at the age of 87. Pictured: Raine at Westminster Abbey for the memorial service for the Princess of Wales in September 1997
Many years later, the true extent of her bond with her late stepdaughter emerged in letters and in her appearance at the inquest into Diana’s death in 2007.
“She always said I had no hidden agenda,” Raine told the court. “So many people wanted something from her because she was so popular and world famous.” “It was a very stressful life.”
During Diana’s inquest, Countess Spencer said her stepdaughter was “madly in love” with Dodi Fayed and was probably close to marrying him.
She told the couple’s inquest that it was “highly likely” they had become engaged and married – or at least started living together.
In 2012, private correspondence between Countess Spencer and Diana sparked debate about whether Camilla Parker Bowles cast a shadow over her life even before Diana’s engagement.
Auctioneers planned to sell the two handwritten letters that Diana had sent to Raine a few weeks before Charles’ proposal, but the furious Countess Spencer demanded information about the letters’ provenance.
Five years after her death, Raine’s grave had no headstone but a small, weathered wooden cross
She said she was “horrified” and “amazed” by the sale.
She died on October 21, 2016 after a short illness at the age of 87.
Five years after her death, Raine’s grave had no headstone but a small, weathered wooden cross.
Eventually, a simple gravestone was erected at North Sheen Cemetery in southwest London, engraved with a gold crown and the inscription “Countess Raine Spencer 1929-2016.”