Lady Jane Fellowes, Prince Harry’s trusted confidant who met Archie before Prince William, celebrates her 68th birthday today
Lady Jane Fellowes remains a steady presence in the lives of the Royal Family, even after the passing of her sister, Princess Diana.
Jane, who celebrates her 68th birthday today, showed her support for her nephew, Prince Harry, by attending the tenth anniversary service for his Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral last May.
She was accompanied by her younger brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer.
Inside the cathedral, Jane and Charles were seen speaking with Harry, who warmly embraced them. No senior royals were present.
Meanwhile, just twenty minutes away, King Charles and Prince William were busy greeting guests at a Buckingham Palace garden party, underscoring the ongoing rift within the family.
Jane’s close bond with Harry was evident at his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, where she gave a reading from the Song of Solomon – a deliberate echo of her heartfelt tribute at Diana’s funeral two decades earlier.
Before their nuptials, Harry ensured that Meghan met both of his mother’s sisters and, during an engagement interview, he emphasised how important Jane and Sarah were to him.
Meghan acknowledged this, responding: ‘I think in being able to meet his aunts, I’m able to, in some way, know a part of her (Diana) through them and of course through him. And it’s – it’s incredibly special.’
Lady Jane Fellowes, pictured at Harry’s wedding to Meghan in May 2018, remains a steady presence in the lives of the Royal Family, even after the passing of her sister, Princess Diana
Jane was also introduced to Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie, before William.
The official birth announcement recognised Lady Jane Fellowes, her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and brother Earl Spencer alongside senior royals as being ‘delighted’ by the news.
The Spencer family remains one of the few neutral parties able to navigate the divide between William and Harry, whose estrangement only intensified after the Duke of Sussex’s explosive claims in his memoir, Spare.
Harry gave ‘standout thanks’ to Jane, Sarah and Earl Spencer in his book while failing to mention his late grandmother, father or brother.
Since stepping back from royal duties and relocating to Montecito in 2020, Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the Royal Family has grown increasingly strained.
Meanwhile, Harry appears to have grown closer to his uncle, Earl Spencer.
This was evident during the Duke’s unexpected trip to the UK last August for the funeral of Lord Robert Fellowes, Jane’s late husband.
William also attended the service in the small Norfolk village of Snettisham, yet the brothers reportedly kept their distance.
Jane showed her support for her nephew Prince Harry by attending the tenth anniversary of his Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral last May
Jane arrived at the church alongside her younger brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer
Prince William, right, and Prince Harry greet their aunts Lady Sarah McCorquodale, left, and Lady Jane Fellowes at the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace in July 2021
Jane and her sisters, Princess Diana and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, laugh as they leave the Royal Opera House in November 1995
Following the funeral, Harry did not reunite with his brother or any other royals.
Instead, he stayed at Althorp House with Earl Spencer – the ancestral home of his late mother and the site of her burial.
Given the timing of Harry’s visit, it’s likely that the two took the opportunity to honour Diana’s memory.
Jane is often regarded as one of the most academically gifted members of the Spencer family.
She excelled at West Heath boarding school near Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was a prefect and successfully passed a strong selection of her O and A-Levels.
She was the first of the three Spencer sisters to wed, marrying Robert Fellowes – then assistant private secretary to the late Queen – at the Guards’ Chapel overlooking St James’s Park, when she was just 21.
This wedding set a family tradition, with Spencer brides wearing the family tiara on their wedding day.
Among the bridal party was Diana, then just 16, serving as her bridesmaid.
Jane was the first of the Spencer sisters to wed, marrying Robert Fellowes – then assistant private secretary to the late Queen – at the Guards’ Chapel overlooking St James’s Park
The Golden Wedding of the 7th Earl and Countess of Spencer in March 1969. From left to right: Richard Wake-Walker, Lady Anne Wake-Walker, Elizabeth Wake-Walker, Christopher Wake-Walker, Earl Spencer, Countess Spencer, Lady Sarah Spencer, Viscount Althrop, Lady Jane Spencer. Lady Diana Spencer and Charles Spencer stand in the front
The late Queen, carrying a small bouquet of flowers, and her private secretary, Sir Robert Fellowes (to the right of the image) during a state visit to Malaysia in October 1989
Robert Fellowes with Charles, then Prince of Wales, at the Epsom Derby in June 1993
Laura Fellowes, Sir Robert Fellowes and Lady Jane attend the wedding of William Duckworth-Chad (Prince William’s second cousin) and Lucy Greenwell at All Saints Church, Sudbourne, in April 2011
Jane found herself in a delicate position as her husband – who later became Sir Robert, then Lord Fellowes – rose to become one of the Queen’s most trusted advisers.
His role at the Palace meant that Jane had to carefully navigate the tensions that arose when Diana’s marriage to Charles began to break down.
Robert’s close relationship with the Queen even led to speculation of a rift between Jane and Diana. The Princess’s former butler, Paul Burrell, claimed the sisters had not spoken ‘in a number of years’ before Diana’s death.
However, other royal insiders dismissed this claim, noting that Jane and Diana were neighbours at Kensington Palace – Diana lived with William and Harry in apartments eight and nine, while Jane resided nearby at a house known as the Old Barracks.
Robert passed away last year at the age of 82. A key figure in the British court, he served as the Queen’s most trusted advisor between 1990 and 1999, guiding her through the divorces of three of her children and Diana’s death.
He played a crucial role in helping the Queen navigate her ‘annus horribilis’ in 1992, when Charles and Diana’s conflict became public, Prince Andrew separated from Sarah Ferguson, Princess Anne divorced, Windsor Castle suffered a devastating fire, and public opinion towards the royals soured.
Even in later years, he remained an extra equerry to the late Queen until her death in September 2022.
Jane and Robert’s three children – Laura, Alexander and Eleanor – have remained close to both William and Harry. Laura is godmother to Princess Charlotte.
The late 8th Earl Spencer with children from L-R Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Charles (now 9th Earl Spencer), Lady Jane Fellowes and the late Diana, Princess of Wales
The late Queen visiting Poundbury in Dorset in May 1998. Sir Robert Fellowes is standing in the background
Frances Shand Kydd with her daughter, Lady Jane Fellowes, leaving the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital after visiting Princess Diana and her newborn son, Prince William, in June 1982
Charles, accompanied by Sarah and Jane, leaves the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris where Princess Diana died in August 1997
The Spencer family leaving Westminster Abbey after the funeral service for Diana in September 1997
Robert and his wife Jane arrive at the High Court in February 2008. Robert gave evidence at the inquest into the death of Diana
As Diana’s closest sibling, Jane was deeply involved in supporting her grieving nephews after their mother’s tragic passing.
She played a vital, yet low-profile, role in the heartbreaking days that followed Diana’s fatal car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris on August 31, 1997.
In the 2017 BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days, her brother Earl Spencer and sister Sarah revealed that it was Jane who was given the responsibility of calling them to break the tragic news.
Jane and Sarah then accompanied Prince Charles to Paris to bring Diana’s body back to Britain.
In harrowing images from that day, Jane was visibly distressed as she left the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where Diana had been pronounced dead.
With King Charles currently enduring cancer treatment, there is an urgent need for reconciliation within the Royal Family.
Perhaps, once again, Jane – now Baroness Fellowes – will step in quietly, as she has before, to help heal divisions.
