Charles Spencer says joining Britain’s royal family through marriage can require a kind of adjustment that those raised inside the institution never have to make. Princess Diana’s younger brother shared that view during a September 29 conversation with royal biographer Tina Brown at St. Peter’s Chelsea in New York City.
The discussion, hosted by McNally Jackson Books as Spencer promoted his memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, turned to the pressures Diana faced after marrying the future King Charles III. Brown asked whether it was possible to live as a modern person inside what she described as the “cage” of monarchy.
Spencer responded that some people are able to endure that environment while others struggle with it. “I think if you grow up in a royal family, it’s a lot easier than marrying into it,” he said, according to PEOPLE. “If you look at the wives of those who’ve married in, it’s tough. It’s a way of thinking that is very specific.”
Neither Meghan Markle nor Kate Middleton was named during that exchange. Both women married Spencer’s nephews, Prince Harry and Prince William.
Spencer Said Royal Life Is Easier to Understand When You Grow Up Inside It
Spencer’s point was about familiarity rather than one particular royal marriage. He told Brown that people raised within a royal family grow up understanding its customs, expectations and internal culture, while somebody arriving through marriage has to learn that system as an adult.
The remarks were made during a wider discussion of Diana’s experience after her 1981 marriage to then-Prince Charles. Spencer’s memoir traces their childhood together and the way his sister’s life changed after she became Princess of Wales.
He Has Spoken About Harry and Meghan Separately
Although Spencer did not invoke Meghan when discussing women marrying into the family in New York, he has addressed her and Harry directly in a separate interview this month. Speaking to the BBC while promoting his memoir, he compared aspects of their tabloid coverage with the press treatment his sister experienced.
The Guardian reported that Spencer described some coverage of Diana and the Sussexes as “really, really unpleasant” and said people should learn from what happened to his sister. He also said he saw “echoes” of Diana’s experience in the way Harry and Meghan have been covered.
‘Swan Song’ Was Published One Week Before the New York Conversation
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Swan Song: Diana, My Sister was published in the United States by Penguin Press on September 22. Penguin Random House lists the hardcover at 384 pages and describes the memoir as Spencer’s account of growing up with Diana and the period surrounding her death in 1997.
Spencer previewed the book on Instagram earlier in September when he received his first physical copy. He called it the most personal book he had written and described it as a brother’s tribute to his sister, adding after recording the audiobook that he believed Diana would have approved of what he had written.
Spencer Is Also Defending a Disputed Memory From After Diana’s Death
The memoir has generated a separate dispute over Spencer’s recollection of conversations with the then-Prince Charles after Diana died. Spencer alleges in the book that Charles made remarks suggesting Diana would soon be forgotten, an account Buckingham Palace has publicly challenged.
The Washington Post reported that Buckingham Palace said the King was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory” many years after a loss.
Spencer stood by his recollection again during the New York event, saying he clearly remembers the limited phone conversations he had with the then-Prince of Wales after Diana’s death. He also argued that the palace response questioned his memory without directly denying that the disputed words were spoken.