All About Princess Diana’s Aristocratic Family—and Her Surprising Tie to This Actress

Before she was Princess Diana, she was Lady Diana Spencer. Her marriage to Prince Charles may have earned her a new title, but Diana had inherited an aristocratic lineage at birth as a Spencer—one of Britain’s longest-standing noble families, tracing their roots all the way back to the 16th century.

Per the official Spencer House website, the Spencers began as sheep farmers. After building a fortune, they transitioned into land ownership (and thus, the aristocracy). Sir Robert the First Baron Spencer entered the nobility in 1603, further elevating their status. Many generations later, Diana was born to Edward John Spencer, the future 8th Earl Spencer, and his then-wife, Frances Ruth Spencer (née Roche).

Proximity to royalty was inevitable. Queen Elizabeth II had attended her parents’ 1954 wedding, per the BBC. Diana’s early years at Park House saw her playing with her future brother-in-laws (closer in age to her than her Prince Charles) when the queen brought her family to stay at the adjacent Sandringham House. Her older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer (now McCorquodale), briefly dated Charles before the future couple were introduced.

Nearly 30 years after she was tragically killedfollowing a car accident in Paris, Diana remains the most famous Spencer. Her grace, style, and charitable endeavors have inspired millions, while her surviving relatives—including sons Prince William and Prince Harry—continue to uphold and advance her legacy of helping those in need.

Her parents were aristocrats.

Princess Diana was born on July 1, 1961 to Edward John and Frances Spencer, then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. Her father (who went by his middle name, John) inherited his Earldom upon his own father’s death in 1975, at which time she became Lady Diana Frances Spencer.

Diana’s mother, Frances, had a similarly noble pedigree: her father, Maurice Roche, was a member of the Irish aristocracy and a friend of King George VI; her mother, Ruth Roche, was a friend and confidante of Elizabeth The Queen Mother, serving as one of her ladies-in-waiting.

John was a WWII veteran and held various offices before attaining peerage, including as an equerry to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, according to his obituary in The New York Times. Her majesty attended the couple’s June 1, 1954 wedding at Westminster Abbey, the BBC reported.

Diana’s parents separated in 1967 and divorced in 1969, per the royal family’s official website. Diana and her siblings lived with their father at Park House until 1975, at which time they moved to Althorp upon John’s inheritance of the Earldom.

She grew up with three siblings.

Diana was the youngest daughter of the Spencer family. Her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale was born in 1955. Another sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, arrived in 1957. She also had an older brother named John who died hours after he was born in 1960, according to People. After Diana’s arrival in 1961, her parents welcomed one more child together, a son named Charles Spencer.

In 2021, Sarah, Jane, and Charles (now Earl Spencer) joined their nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry, at Kensington Palace for the unveiling of a statue honoring the late princess. Charles, who resides at Althorp, has helped uphold Diana’s legacy as her family strives to keep her memory alive. “She could make any person, whether they were the grandest or the most humble, totally at ease,” he told People in 2017, 20 years after her passing. “It’s an incredible gift.”

She has 13 nieces and nephews.

The Spencer family tree expanded as Diana and her siblings welcomed children. Her younger brother, Charles, notably has seven kids, according to People. He shares daughters Kitty, Eliza, and Amelia and son Louis, Viscount Althorp, with ex-wife Victoria Lockwood. He and his second wife, Caroline Freud, welcomed son Edmund and daughter Lara. With his third wife, Karen Gordon, he welcomed another daughter named Charlotte.

Diana’s sister Sarah has welcomed three children with husband Neil McCorquodale: George, Emily, and Celia. Their sister Jane shares the same number of kids with husband Robert Fellowes: Laura, Alexander, and Eleanor. Altogether, the late princess has nine nieces and four nephews carrying on the Spencer name.

She’s distantly related to Winston Churchill and an Emmy winner.

The Spencer family tree has branches in politics, royalty, Hollywood, and academia. One Timemagazine report from 1981 listed among her distant cousins Presidents John Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. More striking was her connection to former U.K. Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, whose middle name was Spencer in a nod to his lineage.

Diana’s distant Hollywood connections include Humphrey Bogart, Lillian Gish, and Glenn Close. The latter learned of her connection to ‘the people’s princess’ on a 2021 episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots—they’re eight cousins.

She has two children and five grandchildren.

With Prince Charles, now King Charles III, Diana welcomed two children: Prince William and Prince Henry (aka Prince Harry). Both her sons have married and welcomed children of their own.

William wed Kate Middleton in 2011, and the couple’s first child, Prince George, arrived two years later. They expanded their family in 2015, welcoming Princess Charlotte. In 2018, they welcomed another son, Prince Louis.

Harry, meanwhile, wed Meghan Markle in 2018. They welcomed their first child, Prince Archie, in 2019. Their second child and first daughter, Princess Lilibet, arrived in 2021.