Raine Spencer, Princess Diana’s stepmother, dead at the age of 87 after a short illness

Raine Spencer, stepmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has died aged 87 after short illness, her family has said.

Countess Spencer died on Friday morning at her London home, her son, Ukip MP William Legge the Earl of Dartmouth has said.

In a statement the family said: “Raine, Countess Spencer, died peacefully at her home in London on 21st October, 2016, after a short illness.”

Mrs Spencer was married to Diana’s father, Earl Spencer, between 1976 and 1992.

She was the only daughter of Alexander McCorquodale and romance novelist Dame Barbara Cartland.

The socialite met Earl Spencer, her second husband, when she was a young Conservative councillor and they remained together until his death.

When she moved into the Earl’s home at Althorp she became stepmother to Diana, six, and Charles, three.

Her first marriage was to the Earl of Dartmouth and lasted from 1948 to 1976.

Following Earl Spencer’s death she married Count Jean-Francois de Chambrun in 1993, but the marriage lasted only three years.

At 23 the Conservative became the youngest member of Westminster City Council and remained in local government for 17 years.

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