The late Princess Diana's one-time stepmother, Raine Spencer, has come in for her share of the limelight lately, as a new biography was released last month. The woman once nicknamed ‘Acid Raine’ by Diana and her siblings when they were teenagers later became one of the princess' closest confidantes.
Raine herself was the daughter of Dame Barbara Cartland, whose historical romance novels made her one of the best-selling authors of the 20th century. The Mayfair house Cartland bought in 1936, and where Raine Spencer spent much of her childhood, has just gone on sale with Wetherell for an astonishing £35 million, and a quick look inside makes it easy to justify the price.
The house is located on South Street in Mayfair, and is described by Wetherell as ‘An elegant stone-dressed, red-brick, five-storey grade II listed mansion house.’ The website goes on to note the ‘double-fronted Edwardian façade with arts & crafts style detailing and french-inspired fine iron railings.’ Dame Barbara used the house to entertain a series of grand and famous friends, including members of the royal family, and also hosted Raine's debutante ball there in 1947, the year she was named debutante of the year.
Raine went on to marry a series of earls, starting with the Hon. Gerald Humphry Legge in 1948, who succeeded to the title of Earl of Dartmouth in 1962; immediately following their divorce in 1976 she married Earl Spencer, Diana's father, and embarked on a difficult relationship with his children. Diana was said to have once pushed her down the stairs during her brother's wedding, but the two later developed a close relationship.
Dame Barbara Cartland sold the house in late 1950 and moved to the country, and the house has passed through a series of owners since then. It has five bedrooms and ten bathrooms, along with six reception rooms, three terraces and a swimming pool. Our verdict? It's fit for any number of countesses.
