Echoes what happened to Diana: Earl Spencer on Harry and Meghan's media scrutiny

Charles Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has drawn a parallel between the media scrutiny faced by Prince Harry and Meghan and the intense press attention that surrounded his sister before her death.

Speaking to the BBC, he said the treatment of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had "echoes" of what happened to Diana, warning that relentless negative coverage could have a damaging effect on those at its centre.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, returned to the UK with their children in August after six years in the US. Since leaving Britain, Harry and Meghan have continued to speak publicly about their experiences with the British media and their strained relationship with the Royal Family. Harry has also pursued legal action against British newspaper groups over unlawful information gathering.

'ECHOES' OF WHAT HAPPENED TO DIANA

Spencer was asked by BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg whether he believed Diana would have recognised the level of scrutiny now faced by Harry and Meghan.

"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," he said.

"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," he added.

Spencer said he had personally seen how deeply the media attention affected Diana. He recalled her "tears of despair" while describing the effect of coverage on her and said she had been "very, very sensitive to criticism".

Diana married the then-Prince Charles in 1981 and became one of the world's most photographed public figures. Her turbulent marriage, separation from Charles and life outside the royal family generated intense media interest.

Spencer said Diana was "really brought low by all that criticism", adding that it was a "pity" to see "echoes of that now" in the treatment of Harry and Meghan. He also rejected the suggestion that his comments meant he had taken Harry's side in his long-running disputes with the media and other members of the royal family.

WHY HARRY AND MEGHAN AT ODDS WITH THE PRESS

Harry and Meghan have repeatedly criticised sections of the British press. In their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry accused the tabloid media of creating a "toxic environment" of "control and fear". Meghan made similar claims in the couple's Netflix documentary series the following year.

"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," she said.

The couple's criticism has also played out through the courts. Harry has pursued several legal cases against British newspaper groups over allegations involving unlawful information gathering and privacy. In July, Harry and six other claimants, including Liz Hurley and Elton John, lost a privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The group could face a legal bill of up to 34.5 million pounds.

In separate cases, Harry won against Mirror Group Newspapers, while his dispute with News Group Newspapers ended in a settlement.

Spencer's remarks about Harry and Meghan come at a particularly sensitive time for the wider royal family. His BBC interview was his first since Buckingham Palace issued a strongly worded response to his claims about a conversation with King Charles in the days following Diana's death.

Spencer has maintained that Charles told him people would forget Diana "soon enough" after her death. The Palace disputed his recollection, saying 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".

Spencer pushed back strongly against the response. He insisted he remembered the conversation clearly.

WHY IS SPENCER'S ACCOUNT BEING CHALLENGED?

The dispute has opened a fresh debate over memories of the days immediately following Diana's death in Paris on 31 August 1997.

Spencer's account has also been supported, at least in part, by journalist Richard Kay, who was close to Diana. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Kay said Spencer had told him about a "furious row" with Charles during the week between Diana's death and funeral.

"It was 'about the boys', but he was reluctant to go further," Kay wrote, adding that Spencer described the then prince as "utterly pathetic". But people close to Charles have strongly rejected Spencer's portrayal of the King's state of mind.

The dispute over Diana's treatment by the press is not new. At her funeral, Spencer delivered one of the most pointed attacks on the media in his eulogy, accusing newspapers of being on a "permanent quest...to bring her down".

He also said the media had been threatened by Diana's "genuine goodness".

Nearly three decades later, Spencer believes some of the same dynamics can be seen in the scrutiny surrounding Harry and Meghan.

Diana died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36. She was travelling with her partner Dodi Fayed when the car crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel while being pursued by photographers.

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