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Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the older sister of the late Princess Diana and aunt to Prince Harry and Prince William, is “on the mend” after suffering a hard fall.
During an appearance on the “Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth” podcast on Friday, her brother, Charles Spencer, revealed that Lady Sarah, 70, had been hospitalized after an accident while riding her horse.
“She’s still riding, and she’s had a really bad fall last month and has been in hospital for a long time,” Spencer said.
“I think [she] was quite a handful as a patient, because the lead doctor said to my brother-in-law, ‘She’s quite a character, isn’t she?’” the 61-year-old said, referring to Sarah’s husband Neil McCorquodale. “Which I think is code for, ‘Could you take her home?’”
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Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the sister of the late Princess Diana, has been in the hospital “for a long time,” her brother Charles Spencer revealed. (Indigo/Getty Images; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
A friend of the family told People magazine that Lady Sarah is currently “on the mend.”
Over the years, both Harry and William have remained close to their aunts Lady Jane Fellowes and McCorquodale.
Diana was four and six years younger than Fellowes and McCorquodale. In 1997, the women accompanied the then-Prince Charles to Paris to bring Diana’s body back home to the U.K. after her death following a car crash at age 36.
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While the pair have rarely spoken out publicly about their beloved sister, they have shown their support for Prince William and Prince Harry during some of the most important events of their lives, including their royal weddings.
Princess Diana was four and six years younger than Lady Jane Fellowes (R) and Lady Sarah McCorquodale (L). (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
“Harry is very close with his aunts,” royal expert Shannon Felton Spence previously told Fox News Digital. “In a break from tradition, the photos released from Harry and Meghan [Markle’s] wedding, and [their son] Archie’s christening, included both of Diana’s sisters. It’s lovely — Harry has continued a close relationship with them and made the Spencers such an important piece of Archie and Lili’s lives. It’s really such a touching way to keep their ‘Granny Diana’ present in their lives.”
“I think there is a genuine, heartfelt desire on the part of the Spencers to maintain the late Princess of Wales’ remarkable legacy — to make sure she’s not forgotten as we approach the coronation,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” previously told Fox News Digital.
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Prince William and Prince Harry have remained close with their aunts throughout the years. (Getty Images)
“They are also filling the void left by the royal family, whose senior members were invited but chose not to attend,” he shared. “I think there’s also a none-too-subtle message here — one being sent by both the Sussexes and Diana’s family — that even if the royals turn their backs on them, Harry, Meghan and their children will always have Diana’s family in their corner.”
“In that sense, Lady Sarah and Lady Jane are really proxies for Diana,” he noted. “They were at the christening because she couldn’t be there. It’s really quite touching when you think about it.”
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Papa and Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.