Who Is Lady Jane Fellowes? Everything You Need to Know About Princess Diana's Sister

She has a special role in the royal wedding.

Her real name is CynthiaPrincess Diana was a bridesmaid in her weddingJane and Diana were neighbors at Kensington PalaceShe has kept out of the spotlight since her sister's death

The Spencer family has arrived to the royal wedding! To honor Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, he and Meghan Markle decided to invite her whole family, including her siblings Earl Charles Spencer, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and Lady Jane Fellowes,

Prince Harry chose his auntie Jane to give a reading during the ceremony to celebrate his mother's life. "Prince Harry is keen to involve his mother's family in his wedding," Harry's secretary wrote in a statement.

"Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day."

Wearing a silver jacket and sensible black hat, Jane read a passage from the Old Testament, Song of Solomon 2:12, which goes:

"The flowers appear on the Earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs and the vines are in blossom, they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one's house, it would be utterly scorned."

So, here's what you need to know about Lady Jane Fellowes.

Her real name is Cynthia

She was originally born Cynthia Jane Spencer on February 11, 1957, to Edward John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, but has since decided to go by her middle name. She is the second born of the four Spencer children.

Fun fact: her older sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale also goes by one of her middle names. She was born Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer, but goes by Sarah.

Princess Diana was a bridesmaid in her wedding

In 1978, Jane married Robert Fellowes, who was then the assistant private secretary to the Queen—and a 16-year-old Diana was one of her bridesmaids!

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sarah and Robert have three kids together, Emily Jane McCorquodale, 34, George Edmund McCorquodale, 33, and Celia Rose McCorquodale, 29.

Jane and Diana were neighbors at Kensington Palace

Since her husband Lord Fellowes was the Queen's private secretary, he lived on the Palace grounds, reportedly in a house called the Old Barracks. Prince Charles and Diana lived in apartments 8 and 9, which are right next door.

She has kept out of the spotlight since her sister's death

According to a BBC documentary, it was Lady Jane who gave the tragic news of Diana's death to her sister Sarah and brother Charles on the morning of August 31, 1997. Jane did not participate in the documentary, but her siblings did.

Since Diana's funeral—where she read a poem by Henry Van Dyke Jr.—it's been reported that the two had a strained relationship. According to the Princess of Wales' former butler, Paul Burrell, the two were distant because of Jane's husband's position with the Queen.

Follow along here as we report on the royal wedding in real-time—from the dress to the tiara to Harry and Meghan's most adorable moments.

Alex Warner
Editor

I’m currently working at Dotdash Meredith as the Celeb & Entertainment E-Commerce Lead contributing affiliate content for People.com and InStyle.com. I’m basically like your personal shopper, from writing about that cozy loungewear set you didn’t know you needed to keeping tabs on the best sales and deals on the internet. I’m also a pro at finding affordable dupes for celebrity looks and I love to dig into the data to strategize content opportunities.