Earl Spencer has told the BBC that the media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan has "echoes" of what happened to his sister Diana, Princess of Wales. He described press coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a "cancerous influence in their life" and said it would be "beholden on people to learn from Diana's example". This comes after the Sussexes recently returned to the UK from California six years after stepping back from royal duties.
The Sussexes have been repeatedly critical of the media, with Prince Harry accusing the tabloid media of creating a "toxic environment" of "control and fear" in their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan also said in the couple's 2022 Netflix series that "no matter how hard I tried, no matter how good I was, no matter what I did, they [the media] were still going to find a way to destroy me". Earl Spencer's comments were made in an interview at his Althorp estate.
Earl Spencer described the impact of media coverage on Diana, saying he saw her "tears of despair" and that she was "very, very sensitive to criticism". He added that his sister was "really brought low by all that criticism", describing it as a "pity" to see "echoes of that now" in the treatment of his nephew Prince Harry and wife Meghan. Diana was subject to huge press interest right up until her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
In his eulogy at Diana's funeral, Earl Spencer accused the media of being on a "permanent quest...to bring her down" and said newspapers had been threatened by her "genuine goodness". He also said he thought there was a media perception that he was "on Harry's side" but insisted: "I'm on my deceased sister's sons' side, both of them and if either of them wanted anything, then I'd be equally there for them".
The Sussexes have long been critical of their treatment by the British press as well as the support they received from the Royal Family prior to their decision to leave the UK. In July this year, Prince Harry and six others including Liz Hurley and Sir Elton John lost a privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, and may face a legal bill of up to £34.5m.
Earl Spencer's interview with the BBC was his first since the Palace issued a strongly worded response to his claims about King Charles. That statement said the King was "mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss". Earl Spencer reacted to it by saying: "Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?"
Earl Spencer's book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is due to be published next week and is expected to be highly critical of the Royal Family. In further extracts published on Thursday, he claimed how the King "sounded giddily elated" when he called him after Diana's death, alleging Charles sounded like a "lottery winner".
Key points
- Media treatment of Harry and Meghan has "echoes" of what happened to Diana.
- Earl Spencer says press coverage of Sussexes is a "cancerous influence in their life".
- Sussexes have been critical of their treatment by British press.
