Princess Diana’s brother says he recognizes echoes of the intense media scrutiny his sister endured in the coverage surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Charles Spencer discussed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg while promoting his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. The Guardian reported that he described some tabloid coverage of Diana and the Sussexes as “really, really unpleasant” and argued that lessons should be learned from what happened to his sister.
“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,” Spencer said.
His comments come weeks after Harry and Meghan returned to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet following six years living in the United States. The interview also arrives amid a separate public dispute between Spencer and Buckingham Palace over his account of conversations with then-Prince Charles after Diana’s death.
Spencer Remembers Diana in ‘Tears of Despair’ Over Press Criticism
Spencer said his concerns come from what he witnessed privately while Diana was alive, recalling how deeply criticism could affect her despite the glamorous public image surrounding her.
“One of the problems with Diana was she was very sensitive to the criticism,” Spencer told the BBC. He remembered seeing his sister reduced to “tears of despair,” according to PEOPLE.
Diana faced extraordinary press attention during her marriage to Charles, their separation and the years following their 1996 divorce. Her relationships, parenting, clothing and public appearances became regular subjects for newspapers and photographers.
She died at 36 after a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, while photographers were pursuing the vehicle. Her death prompted international debate about paparazzi practices and the intensity of media attention directed at public figures.
Harry Said the British Press Was ‘Destroying’ His Mental Health
Harry has repeatedly described media pressure as one factor behind his decision to leave Britain with Meghan and their son Archie in 2020.
During a 2021 interview with James Corden, he said the British press environment had become damaging enough that he believed removing his family was necessary.
“We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health,” Harry said, according to CBS News. “I was like, this is so toxic.”
Harry later pursued several legal cases involving British newspaper publishers. London’s High Court ruled in 2023 that he had been subjected to phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering by Mirror Group Newspapers and awarded him £140,600 in damages. He later settled the remaining claims for an additional payment.
News Group Newspapers reached a settlement with Harry in January 2025 and issued a “full and unequivocal apology” for serious intrusion into his private life by The Sun and unlawful activity connected with the now-defunct News of the World, as CBS News reported.
His case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, ended differently. London’s High Court dismissed the privacy claims in July 2026 after finding that the claimants had not proved that the information at issue was obtained unlawfully. Reuters reported that Harry called the decision a “complete and obvious whitewash,” while Associated Newspapers described it as a victory for its journalists and the free press.
Meghan Said She Was ‘The Most Trolled Person in the Entire World’
Meghan discussed years of online abuse during an April 2026 visit to the youth mental health organization Batyr at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
“For now, 10 years, every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked,” she said, according to Reuters. “And I was the most trolled person in the entire world.”
She argued that social media business models can reward hostility because anger and cruelty generate engagement. The discussion formed part of a wider conversation with young people about online behavior and mental health.
Harry spoke during the same Australian visit about social media’s isolating effects and praised Australia’s restrictions on social media access for children under 16. The rules, which took effect in December 2025, cover major platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Spencer Says He Has Not Chosen Harry Over William
Spencer rejected the perception that his relationship with Harry means he has taken a side in the estrangement between Diana’s sons.
“I think there is a perception in the media that I am on Harry’s side,” he told the BBC. “Well, I’m on my deceased sister’s sons’ side, both of them, and if either of them wanted anything, I would be equally there for them.”
He described himself as a “benign figure” and said he does not want to become deeply involved in the brothers’ disagreement. PEOPLE reported that Spencer also expressed hope that William and Harry would eventually repair their relationship.
Harry has maintained contact with members of the Spencer family and has spent time at Althorp, the family’s Northamptonshire estate where Diana is buried.
William and Harry have not publicly announced a reconciliation.
Spencer’s Diana Memoir Has Drawn a Rare Palace Response
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister includes Spencer’s account of an argument with then-Prince Charles in the days after Diana died.
Spencer alleges that during a dispute over plans for William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin, Charles told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” He also writes that Diana’s former husband sounded “giddily elated” during an earlier telephone conversation following her death.
Buckingham Palace issued an unusually direct response to the allegations. “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” the palace said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Spencer subsequently accused the King of trying to “gaslight” him. He said he had discussed the alleged exchange with close friends and family at the time and pointed to language in the eulogy he delivered at Diana’s funeral as evidence of his state of mind in the days after her death.
In a later interview, Spencer told the BBC that he was “telling the truth” and described the alleged remark as “monstrous,” according to The Guardian.
The conversation was private, and no recording has been made public.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is scheduled for publication on September 22.