When Johnny did eventually die, poor Raine was shunted out of Althorp within 24 hours and even refused suitcases to put her clothes in… she left with car loads of bin liners.

This book is a vindication, both of Raine herself and of a type of person - of woman - whom it became uncool to value * TLS * Then one day she found herself on a historic buildings committee with Johnnie Spencer, heir to Althorp. Before he met Raine, Johnnie was rumoured to be “the gloomiest man in London”. His wife Frances had bolted and he couldn’t get over it. But Raine made it her business to cheer him up. “Raine loved men and she loved sex,” according to a friend, and they were always stopping the car in lay-bys. On one occasion, they gave a lift to a friend but then popped into a budget hotel by a filling station, and left the friend waiting with the chauffeur in the Rolls. They married in 1976. Of course, I love the tasty bits of gossip, I’m sure most people do, but this book shows you so much more. Raine Spencer was not just a very pretty face. To her friends, Raine was shrewd, intelligent, witty and loyal; to her enemies, pushy, overly flamboyant and ruthless. From a career spanning local politics to dealing with the fortunes of Althorp; from taking on the Spencer family estate to her final role as a board member at Harrods, Raine's life was, by any standards, a success . Yet she could not sway the powerful media narrative which pitted her as 'the evil stepmother' at every turn. Welcome to Belgravia Books > Browse the shop > Products > Nonfiction > Biography & Memoir > Three Times a CountessFrom upper-middle-class Berkshire schoolgirl, to Westminster councillor, Countess and perhaps most famously, wife of Earl Spencer, Three Times a Countess recounts Raine's scintillating, sometimes scandalous life, demystifying her scathing tabloid reputation and revealing how, after a tumultuous relationship with the Princess, she became Diana's closest confidante. Raine Spencer leaving The Connaught hotel after lunch with Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 Antony Jones/Getty Images Equity release may impact the size of your estate and it could affect your entitlement to current and future means-tested benefits. Notwithstanding, she was a perfect lady, not revengeful, and always polite, charming and popular. She made a new life for herself, worked as a Director at Harrods, and found a new husband, but no one could replace Johnny, and her last marriage to a French Count did not last very long.

The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review ourYet she could not sway the powerful media narrative which pitted her as ‘the evil stepmother’ at every turn. A societal whirl of London Seasons, family feuds, politics, pomp and ‘big hair’, Gaudoin’s vibrant history of the Countess sets the record straight once and for all, drawing insight from those who knew Raine most. From a career spanning local politics to dealing with the fortunes of Althorp; from taking on the Spencer family estate to her final role as a board member at Harrods, Raine’s life was, by any standards, a success . Carey’s new thriller, the sequel to last year’s excellent Widowland, has acquired unexpected resonance by being published shortly after the Queen’s death, but it remains exciting and provocative dystopian fiction. In an alternative postwar Britain living under a Nazi “protectorate”, Hitler has been assassinated by the book’s protagonist, Rose Ransom, and the country has plunged into paranoia and reprisals. As rumours swirl that the usurped Princess Elizabeth will return to Britain, Rose finds herself alongside an unlikely ally, none other than Queen Wallis Simpson. Nina Simone’s Gum Meanwhile, Johnnie had inherited Althorp on his father’s death. But it desperately needed repairs and the money was all entailed to the children. So he and Raine set about selling some of Althorp’s treasures to fund the renovation. Johnnie’s children, of course, resented this and there was a terrible scene when Diana pushed Raine downstairs, screaming “I hate you so much”. Then, two years into the marriage, Johnnie suffered a massive stroke which kept him in hospital for eight months. Raine stayed by his side, willing him to live, but she would not allow his children to visit him because she said they upset him. No wonder they called her Acid Raine. Tina Gaudoin sets out to rehabilitate Raine as a far more nuanced woman, an insouciant, sexy survivor uncredited for her many achievements . . . A colourful life. * The Times *

Gaudoin's book is revealing and hugely entertaining. Highly recommended. * Daily Mail, *Royal Books of the Year* * And suddenly she was friends with Princess Diana. Diana made the first move, inviting her to lunch, and soon they were phoning each other every day and calling each other “darling”. Raine was one of the first people to learn of Diana’s death. The BBC announced that Dodi Al Fayed had been killed in the Paris car crash, but Diana was in hospital with minor injuries. Michael Cole, who worked for Mohammed Al Fayed, had been frantically phoning the Salpetriere Hospital to ask for news but the hospital refused to tell him anything because he wasn’t family. Then he remembered that his good friend Raine was family, and got her to ring the hospital, who told her Diana was dead.Boris Johnson said that the pandemic was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”, the Covid inquiry was told yesterday as his former aide laid bare the chaos and toxic in-fighting at the heart of government. Dominic Cummings said that “pretty much everyone” referred to the former prime minister... Boris Johnson said that the pandemic was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”, the Covid inquiry was told yesterday as his former aide laid bare the chaos and toxic in-fighting at the heart of government. Dominic Cummings said that “pretty much everyone” referred to the former prime minister... Boris Johnson said that the pandemic was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”, the Covid inquiry was told yesterday as his...