Royal row between King Charles and Earl Spencer

[Viviennemary]

Buckingham Palace said they don't usually comment but they can't stay silent. Apparently Prince Charles said at the time of Diana's death rest assured we'll forget her soon enough. Which is pretty horrendous. Charles has more or less said grief had clouded Earl Spencer's judgement and memory.

I don't know why he has waited nearly 30 years to come out with this.

I agree. Who knows if it's true & certainly Charles Spencer treated her poorly in life & is monetising her death still. I believe her sons may have been persuaded into walking behind her coffin however.
NO ONE behaved well. Her poor sons.

The boys walking behind the funeral procession was the idea of the politicians at the time, Alistair Campbell etc..

The RF (Philip and Charles) did not want to Wlliam & Harry do it. It is rumoured that Philip swore at Campbell about it.

I have just found a news article about it, in fact.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prince-philip-tony-blair-alastair-campbell-princess-diana-funeral-prince-william-prince-harry-a7903186.html

That’s exactly it.

It’s all horrific. But it’s not the traditions and rituals that make it so. In fact, having proscribed parts explained but also having been given some agency helped.

Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I

Seems a bit pointed 🤔

They weren’t just separated, they were divorced

Alastair Campbell later revealed in his diaries that the government &the royal household feared for the security of Prince Charles, believing that he would possibly get attacked by the crowd, thus they ensured that he would be accompanied by his sons.’

Regardless of feelings about either of the men involved. They both have faults but Charles Spencer leeches off his sisters memory. Does anybody really think KC would have said that, in that context about the mother of his sons? I don't think anybody, even with a lot of animosity between them would actually say it in that way when two young boys had just lost a parent.

He cheated first. In the early days of their marriage, Charles and Diana were very much into each other. He took advantage of her - she was barely 20 and he was 31.

As for whether he said that, I can imagine him saying it.

(George at Eton particularly will doubtless be teased).

I can't believe that boys at Eton would be so insensitive as to 'tease' George over this.

I seem to remember reading that Diana had at one point asked her brother if she could return home to live at Althorp for a while to dodge the press for a bit, but he refused saying that he didn't want the paparazzi hanging around there.

I kind of see both sides of that but she might have been able to be snuck in. I think probably Charles Spencer just knew how his sister did get bored and tip the press off about her whereabouts; so possibly a lack of trust on his part.

They had a row and weren't on speaking terms when she died. I think her best friend has spoken about it and probably others - Burrell, no doubt.

He’s intelligent but two of his daughters wouldn’t have him at their weddings fgs.
Surely selfish neglectful parent who has caused acres of hurt and pain describes the Spencer Charles as well as it does the Windsor one.
Both of them products of the fucked up upbringing provided by traditional English aristocracy to their children and in particular the very special way the precious heir gets damaged. Kudos to Diana, and to Kate and William, for trying their best to break the cycle.

Tampon Charlie is a joke, at least Megan will be a pretty princess.

As I said before, it’s not a smear if the claim isn’t true, which is what the PP asked - if it’s not true, why smear?

Turns out “recollections may vary” wasn’t a smear either, it was straightening out an inaccuracy because the claim of racism wasn’t true, as Harry (much) later admitted.

Very interesting - thank you for sharing the link. I had no idea this had happened. Puts a whole new angle on the scenario.

Still not a fan of the royal family, but does put Charles as a parent and Philip as a grandparent, in a much more humane, compassionate light.

Kindest way possibly to deny without flat calling them liars.

Don’t care. They are both awful men.
As a republican, I love it.

Yes it’s repeated on this site endlessly and I have even seen it repeated on this thread that Charles Spencer was at odds with his sister when she died because he had refused her sanctuary on the Althorp estate despite him having successfully sued The Times for running this story.

What actually happened was that while Charles Spencer declined her request for one specific cottage (The Garden House) because an employee needed it, he offered her other properties, including Wormleighton Manor.

He obtained a public apology and correction from The Times for this false story in July 2021. And this successful prosecution followed a previous libel action by Charles Spencer who won damages from the the DM in 2018 over a very similar accusation.

It’s interesting that some posters bring up KC3’s failings as a husband and father in their arguments for believing this claim. When Charles Spencer has had four wives, multiple affairs, seven children from three different women, and three of the children no longer speak to him. Yet he is apparently dignified and intelligent compared to KC3 who wrecked his wife’s life and is a selfish, neglectful parent.

Yes, he wrote in his memoir about school that this was at least partly due to the CSA he suffered there. I feel a lot of sympathy for him on that front.

Unsure what to think about this. I think he's probably telling the truth but that doesn't necessarily mean he heard it correctly: it would seem reckless for Charles to say something like that in front of her brother, especially at that time.

I believe Charles Spencer. He's a highly educated, intelligent man who has written serious books. I'm sure he's meticulous in what he puts in those books. The other Charles seems like a rather petulant, spoilt individual ( remember the childish ink incident), who I can very well imagine saying something spiteful like this just coz someone had the ' audacity' to stand up to him. That statement is basically telling Charles Spencer that he is not ALLOWED to have any thoughta on the matter. No wonder Diana ended up ill with that kind of vile gaslighting around her. I cant wait for William and Catherine to be monarch. Charles doesnt have the commanding presence of the late Queen imo. William and Kate come across as a lot more in touch.

Agree. I don’t think he disliked Diana. They were just always a bad match. He does always seem to be quite a kind soul. Not sure why he would suddenly behave so completely differently. Also, as I have said elsewhere, can anyone really think that (king) Charles “hissed” like a pantomime villain 🦹‍♂️

Are you forgetting Dodi Fayd was in the car with her when she died, they were both adulterous during the marriage. A marriage that should never have happened.

For the life of me I don't understand what her brother is doing by bringing this up after so many years. Is it for the money?

So was he on speaking terms with her or not?

Did he say he didn’t want the paparazzi there?

Yup. He's a very weak man. It was clear to Diana from before the wedding where Charles' priorities lay. Lets not forget his TV interview came a year before DIana's. Her affairs came about because of Charles betrayal. He published a book laying out his POV, not just her. He was the catalyst and agent of all the horror and chaos within their marriage.

The initial royal response to her death was awful until it became clear how unpopular it was making them. Even after that, making the children walk for miles behind their mothers funeral cortege was horrific and making them view the tributes, as if they were performing dogs. When instead, the adult royals should have been doing it while the children were nurtured behind the scenes.