‘Acid Raine’ sweet on Di and Dodi

Once spurned as 'Acid Raine' by her stepdaughter the Princess of Wales, Raine, Countess Spencer yesterday put her belated public stamp of approval on Diana's relationship with Dodi Fayed, saying the Princess was "blissfully in love" while Dodi was "absolutely charming". It was the first time Lady Spencer, the daughter of novelist Barbara Cartland, has spoken publicly about the couple, as she took the witness stand yesterday at the inquest into their deaths.
 
Dressed in black, with a veiled hat, Lady Spencer went on to say that she was sure the pair's relationship was much "deeper" and "closer" than a mere "summer romance". She told the hearing that the Princess had telephoned her several times after a previous holiday with Dodi at the invitation of his father, Harrods boss Mohammed Fayed.

Raine Spencer, who married the Princess's father, the eighth Earl Spencer, in 1976, said Diana had "not been so happy for years". "She was effusive, very excited by him. Incredibly happy... She was really blissful. That was the moment when I really felt that she and Dodi would get engaged and then married."
 
But she dismissed the idea that her stepdaughter would have allowed herself to get pregnant before marriage. "She was brought up in an old-fashioned way," she said. "I personally think it would have been out of the question for her."
 
Diana's stepmother also admitted that she had had her ups and downs with the Princess but said they had been reconciled before her death. She said Diana confided in her because, "she said I had no hidden agenda". She also told the coroner that Diana was on friendly terms with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and that she did not believe stories that Diana had received "nasty letters" from the Duke of Edinburgh. ·