Princess Diana’s younger brother Charles Spencer has always made a point of honoring her memory. That said, he’s also never held back from sharing his true feelings on things like the press’ treatment of his family, or the royal family’s approach to raising children. As such, on many occasions he’s been accused of shadiness — but sometimes, it’s been well-warranted.
Possibly the best-known instance of Spencer’s shadiness comes from his sister’s funeral, where he gave a eulogy. In the speech, he memorably declared, “I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men, so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly, as you planned” (via Princess Diana 97). As if to drive home the point, Spencer emphasized the words, “Blood family.” That said, his speech wasn’t an all-out attack on the royal family. In fact, Spencer went on to add that his family had the utmost respect for them. Nevertheless, he continued, “We, like you, recognize the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible, to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead.”
Even with the brief softening and commitment to preparing Prince William and Prince Harry for their royal roles, many saw the speech overall as a dig at Spencer’s late sister’s in-laws as shady — but it’s worth noting that even two years after the speech, he was unbothered by the criticism. In fact, in a 1999 interview on “Larry King Live,” he told the host, “I’m not going to excuse myself, I’m not going to apologize, I stand by it,” (via T Gilbert). He said what he said!
Charles slammed the British press in his eulogy
If Charles Spencer’s digs at the royal family came with a reminder that he respected the firm, the same cannot be said of his stance on the media. Au contraire, he made zero attempt to hide his disdain for the British press, saying, “I don’t think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media … My own and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum” (via BBC).
As with the portion about the royal family, Spencer addressed his sentiments on “Larry King Live.” And, unsurprisingly, he had zero regrets there, either. Asked by King if he felt as strongly about the media, two years on, he replied, “For what they did to my sister in her life, yeah” (via T Gilbert). Spencer added, “Very long ago, the British press gave up any concept in dealing in truth, when they could sell a newspaper through lying.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Spencer has backed Prince Harry through his lawsuits against the British press. In fact, after one Daily Mail reporter insinuated that Harry was obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy based on the number of times she was mentioned in one of his lawsuits, Spencer pulled no punches. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Pathetic, @amandajplatell — you have no shame, and even less credibility. Last time I heard from you, you were guilty of libelling me, as your employer at @DailyMailUK agreed.” Then, when another X user questioned if there was any proof of Harry’s phone being hacked, Spencer delivered a supremely shady retort. “The tens of millions paid out by the @DailyMirror group to those they hacked, to start with. Hope that helps,” he wrote. Mic drop.
Charles defended Camilla’s son from the press as well
It certainly makes sense that Charles Spencer feels so strongly about Prince Harry’s issues with the media. After all, in his eulogy for Princess Diana, he’d promised to protect her children from ever going through anything remotely similar to what she had with the British press. However, it may come as a surprise to many that he’s also stood up for Queen Camilla’s family in the past.
While on “Larry King Live,” Spencer was asked his thoughts by a viewer on the reports that the now-queen consort’s son had been caught with drugs. Spencer didn’t miss a beat with a shady response, telling the caller, “As far as I’m aware, these were made in the British press, and I’ve already made my views clear on where they see truth lying, so to be honest … I really wouldn’t rely on the testimony of the British papers as to what Mrs. Parker-Bowles’ son is supposed to have done or not done” (via T Gilbert).
Sure enough, the truth about Tom Parker-Bowles is that while he’s admitted to using drugs in his youth, when allegations of him selling them became a front-page scandal in 1999, he’d been set up by a journalist asking him to sell her cocaine (and, notably, had not). That he had used drugs would have been a scandal in itself, but he’s maintained that he never sold them. As for what Spencer might have thought of there being part truths to the drug use, it bears mentioning that his comments on “Larry King Live” covered all bases. “I’m sure, first of all, that William is capable of making his own decisions in this matter, as to who is friends are and who they aren’t,” he’d said. Subtext: No press exposés necessary.
He was accused of refusing Princess Diana a place to stay
Other than everything Charles Spencer’s family has dealt with from the British press, he’s been on the receiving end of false rumors, too. In fact, in one gut-wrenching story, it was claimed that Princess Diana had asked if their family home, Althorp House could be her place of refuge — but that Spencer had turned her away.
It would have been a supremely shady move from the viscount. That is, if it were true. However, later reports revealed that it wasn’t. Though The Times ran a story suggesting that because Spencer had refused his sister a place to stay, he was as responsible for Princess Diana’s death as the controversial Martin Bashir had been, once Spencer sued the outlet, they began singing a different tune. “We are happy to report that having considered his sister’s safety, and in line with police advice, the Earl offered the Princess of Wales a number of properties including Wormleighton Manor, the Spencer family’s original ancestral home,” a statement by the outlet read. Happy to report, indeed.
The Times’ retraction came after Spencer’s legal victory against them over the lie, and they were forced to pay him damages, which he would then donate to a charity of his choice. Sadly, it seems that when it came to the actual amount, they’d tried to negotiate it down. The sardonic viscount wasn’t about to let them off lightly, though. Taking to X, he quipped of their attempts to lower the settlement, “They’re haggling, of course. No real shame.” No playing nice with empty apologies, here.
Charles Spencer wasn’t bothered by King Charles’ affair
One thing Princess Diana fans may find a little shady is that in all the times that Charles Spencer has been asked about King Charles and Queen Camilla’s affair, he’s refused to weigh in on it. His exact words, when asked if he had any strong feelings about it on “Larry King Live”? “None at all. None of my business, and … no. I don’t really find any interest in it, to be honest,” he shrugged (via T Gilbert).
Given how vocal Princess Diana had been about the affair, that her brother seemed to have such apathy towards the situation certainly does come as a surprise. However, there’s a very good chance that had more to do with keeping his nephews’ best interests at heart than anything else. Later on in his “Larry King Live” interview, Spencer explained that he didn’t give the now-king thought in general. Nonetheless, he did have some good things to say. “I respect him very much as the father of my two nephews, and that is how I view him, really,” he said. The viscount added, “I always think after a divorce the most sensible thing is to view the parents as the parents of the children first, and as anything else afterwards. So really, no hard feelings, really.”
Talk about a mature stance in the face of what could have been a very dramatic dynamic.
Charles Spencer didn’t go to King Charles’ coronation
Despite getting on decently with King Charles for the sake of Prince William and Prince Harry, Charles Spencer was notably absent from the former’s 2023 coronation. That said, while we’re of the mind that some of the stars who passed on the coronation were royally petty, it seems Spencer wasn’t invited to the festivities in the first place.
Though an insider told The Independent that the king’s decision to keep Spencer off the guest list was a faux pas, Spencer himself made it clear that he wouldn’t have wanted to be there, anyway. As he said in an interview on Times Radio, “The whole royal thing doesn’t actually … I don’t find it as interesting as a lot of people. Do you know what I mean? I just get on with my life.” Just a touch of shadiness detected, there.
In fairness, even if Spencer was interested in attending his former brother-in-law and his new wife’s coronation, it would undoubtedly have brought a whole lot more scrutiny his way. After all, even if he claimed to have no beef with Charles (and he did actually reveal on “Larry King Live” that the then-Prince of Wales had raised no objections to his biting eulogy), the press would have had a field day if he had been pictured in Westminster Abbey, toasting to the new monarch. And if there’s anything we know about Spencer, it’s that he’s not keen on having the media zoning in on him or his family dynamics.
