Earl Spencer claims ‘cancerous’ Harry and Meghan therapy has ‘echoes’ of Diana
Earl Spencer says press scrutiny of Harry and Meghan is a ‘cancerous influence’ with tragic ‘echoes’ of the media treatment that tormented Princess Diana
Earl Spencer has blasted the ‘cancerous’ media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle(Image: PA)
Princess Diana’s brother has blasted the “cancerous” media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, warning history is repeating itself.
In an explosive new interview, Earl Spencer claimed the constant barrage of press coverage aimed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has distinct “echoes” of the intense scrutiny that tortured his late sister. Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg at his Althorp estate, the peer lifted the lid on the devastating toll tabloid coverage took on Diana and slammed the current treatment of her younger son.
Reflecting on the parallels between his sister and the Sussexes, he said: “If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant.
The Earl recalled witnessing Diana’s ‘tears of despair’ first-hand(Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
“And I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example. I’m not here to speak for Harry and Meghan, but for anyone who’s being destroyed in this way daily, it must be such a cancerous influence in their life.”
The Earl recalled witnessing Diana’s “tears of despair” first-hand, describing how the People’s Princess was “really brought low by all that criticism”. He added that it was a real “pity” to see “echoes of that now” with Harry and Meghan.
Defending his stance, Spencer insisted he wasn’t picking sides between royal brothers Harry and William.
Spencer insisted he wasn’t picking sides between royal brothers Harry and William(Image: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire)
He said: “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 comments come as Earl Spencer prepares to launch his bombshell new memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is set to drop next week.
His latest outburst reopens deep wounds between Althorp and Buckingham Palace. Just days earlier, the Earl dragged King Charles into a bitter war of words, claiming the monarch once boasted people would forget Diana “soon enough” following her tragic 1997 Paris car crash.
Earl Spencer claimed King Charles once boasted that people would forget Diana ‘soon enough’(Image: PA)
Palace officials fired back with a stinging statement, suggesting “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory”.
But a defiant Spencer doubled down, asking: “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?
“I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said.”
The feud erupts as Harry and Meghan continue their own high-profile battles with the press.
Prince Harry previously accused newspapers of fuelling a “toxic environment” of “control and fear”, while Meghan famously claimed outlets were determined to “find a way to destroy me”.
