John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer
The Earl Spencer LVO | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Edward John Spencer 24 January 1924 Bayswater, Paddington, London, England |
Died | 29 March 1992 St John's Wood, London, England | (aged 68)
Spouse(s) | |
Children | |
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Education |
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Known for | Father of Diana, Princess of Wales |
Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, LVO (24 January 1924 – 29 March 1992), styled Viscount Althorp until June 1975, was a British nobleman. He was the father of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the maternal grandfather of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, respectively second and sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.
Early life, education and military career[]
Lord Spencer was born Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, the only son and younger child of Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer and his wife the former Lady Cynthia Hamilton, second daughter of the 3rd Duke of Abercorn. He was born on 24 January 1924 in their family home at 24 Sussex Square, Bayswater, London.[1] He was educated at Eton, the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and the Royal Agricultural College. Popularly known to his family and friends as Johnnie Althorp, he served as a Captain in the Royal Scots Greys from 1944 to 1945,[2] and was Mentioned in Despatches. He landed in France the day after D-Day. He led a British Army unit in an operation to liberate two French towns, La Neuve-Lyre and La Vieille-Lyre.[3][4][5] From 1947 to 1950, he served as Aide-de-Camp to His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir Willoughby Norrie, then Governor of South Australia.[2]
He was engaged to 1950's debutante of the year, Lady Anne Coke (later Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner, lady in waiting to Princess Margaret).[6] His father objected to the match on the grounds of "mad blood", a reference to the institutionalised relatives of the queen, and the engagement was broken off. Much later, the director of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute thought that a genetic disease in the Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis family may have killed male members of the family in early childhood and caused learning disabilities in females.[7][8][9]
Spencer held the offices of County Councillor for Northamptonshire (1952), High Sheriff of Northamptonshire (1959) and Justice of the Peace for Norfolk (1970).[2] He served as equerry to King George VI (1950–52) and to Queen Elizabeth II (1952–54),[10] and was invested as a Member (fourth class) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1954.[11] Prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members (fourth class) and Members (fifth class), respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Althorp until 1975 when he became the 8th Earl Spencer upon his father's death.[12] He was Member of the House of Lords from 9 June 1975 (the day his father died and he inherited the peerage) until his own death.
Family life[]
On 1 June 1954 Spencer and Frances Ruth Roche, the younger daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy, were married in Westminster Abbey by Percy Herbert, Bishop of Norwich. Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family attended the wedding ceremony.[13] They had five children:
- Lady Sarah McCorquodale (born 19 March 1955), married Neil Edmund McCorquodale on 17 May 1980 and had issue.
- Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (born 11 February 1957), married Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes on 20 April 1978 and had issue.
- The Honourable John Spencer, died within ten hours of his birth on 12 January 1960.
- Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), married Charles, Prince of Wales, on 29 July 1981, separating in 1992 with the marriage ending in divorce in 1996.
- Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (born 20 May 1964), married first Victoria Lockwood from 1989 to 1997 and had issue, married second Caroline Hutton from 2001 to 2007 and had issue, and married third Karen Villeneuve on 18 June 2011 and had issue.
John and Frances Spencer were divorced in 1969. Immediately thereafter, Frances married Peter Shand Kydd, while John was granted custody of their children by the courts after her former mother-in-law, Lady Fermoy, testified against her own daughter.[14] In 1976, Lord Spencer married Raine McCorquodale, the former wife of the 9th Earl of Dartmouth and daughter of Capt. Alexander McCorquodale, a British Army officer, and the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland.
In 1978, Spencer suffered a severe stroke,[1] from which, at one stage, he was not expected to recover, and which kept him in hospital for eight months. Shortly before his death he was hospitalized for pneumonia.[15] He died of a heart attack in 1992, and was succeeded by his son Charles.[16]
Coat of arms[]
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Ancestry[]
showAncestors of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer |
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References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "The 8th Earl Spencer, 68, Dies; Father of the Princess of Wales". The New York Times. 30 March 1992. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "The 8th Earl Spencer Dies". The Washington Post. 30 March 1992. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ Puente, Maria (4 September 2019). "Princess Diana's dad was WWII hero, her brother Charles Spencer reveals in 'Today' sitdown". USA Today. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Spencer, Charles (4 September 2019). "Charles Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, shares discovery of father's WWII heroism". Today. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Winston, George (24 September 2019). "Father of Princess Diana Was Hero Who Liberated Two Towns in WWII". warhistoryonline.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner review – a bestselling glimpse of the royals". The Guardian. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "The History of the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Archived 11 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine" website, retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ Coke, Hope (19 November 2020). "Behind The Crown: The true story of the Queen's cousins, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon". Tatler. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Bowes-Lyon Retardation Gene May Have Killed Males", The Age, 9 April 1987.
- ^ "Diana, Princess of Wales biography". The official website of the British Monarchy. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014.
Earl Spencer was Equerry to George VI from 1950 to 1952, and to The Queen from 1952 to 1954.
- ^ "No. 40181". The London Gazette. 25 May 1954. p. 3072.
- ^ "Princess Diana: The Earl's daughter, born to life of privilege". CNN. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ "Queen heads lists guests at wedding". The Gazette. Montreal. 1 June 1954. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ^ The Times (London), Thursday, 8 July 1993; p. 4 col. D and p. 19 col. A
- ^ "Edward John Spencer; Earl Was Princess Diana's Father". Los Angeles Times. 30 March 1992. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Edward John Spencer; Earl Was Princess Diana's Father". Times Wire Services. London. 30 March 1992. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
External links[]
- 1924 births
- 1992 deaths
- 20th-century British landowners
- Spencer-Churchill family
- Earls Spencer
- People educated at Eton College
- Royal Scots Greys officers
- British Army personnel of World War II
- Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
- Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University
- High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire
- Members of the Royal Victorian Order
- Equerries