Who is Earl Spencer, the man at the center of the latest royal saga?

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When Earl Charles Spencer delivered his powerful eulogy for the late Princess Diana, he pledged to protect her sons – whom he referred to as “blood family” – from the anguish that regularly drove his sister “to tearful despair.”

Nearly 30 years on, claims made in his new book risk, as one British newspaper put it, plunging a “dagger into the heart” of those two sons.

Spencer claims his former brother-in-law – now King Charles – launched into a “stream of anger” over the phone following Diana’s death, after Spencer argued she would not have wanted William and Harry to take part in her funeral procession, according to excerpts published this week.

The King is also accused of saying, “we’ll forget her soon enough” – a claim Buckingham Palace has firmly rejected.

Some British media outlets and royal commentators have questioned the purpose of dragging up the past, while others have defended Spencer, saying his book shows he was prioritizing family over royal tradition.

Charles Spencer was born in London on May 20, 1964, into a prominent British aristocratic family with links to the modern-day royal clan. The late Queen Elizabeth II was his godmother.

In 1508, the family purchased the Althorp estate in West Northamptonshire, England, around two and a half hours drive north of London, where their ancestral seat remains to this day.

Spencer was educated at Eton, the prestigious school located in the English county of Berkshire, a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle. He then attended Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, where he studied modern history, according to his website.

Later, Spencer worked as a journalist, including spending a decade at the American TV network NBC News from 1986 as an on-air correspondent.

He has written several books, including titles exploring his own family’s past, as well as books about royal figures such as Charles II. He has five daughters and two sons from his first three marriages, according to his website.

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Diana and Spencer – who were aged less than three years apart – were very close as children, growing up at Althorp House, their leafy stately home in West Northamptonshire.

Spencer remembers their early years fondly and says the pair spent a significant amount of time together, particularly during their parent’s divorce.

But their relationship, as with many siblings, wasn’t without its squabbles.

Fractures between the pair were documented in a series of letters revealed during the 2002 theft trial of Diana’s former butler.

The Telegraph, which reported on the trial, said Diana’s request for a home in the “Garden House” on the family estate following her separation from then-Prince Charles was initially accepted but later turned down by Spencer who suggested alternative properties on the grounds.

Another letter cited in the trial referred to a phone call between the siblings in which Diana hung up on her brother.

Despite this upset, Spencer delivered an emotional eulogy in 1997 which lauded Diana as the “very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty.”

In the speech, he reminisced about their childhood days when Diana “mothered me as a baby, fought with me at school and endured those long train journeys between our parents’ homes with me at weekends.”

He strongly rebuked the British press for their treatment of his sister whom Spencer called the “most hunted person of the modern age.” The eulogy led to applause both in the church and among crowds listening outside.

Spencer held warm feelings towards Charles shortly after the then-Prince of Wales and Diana met at Althorp House in 1977.

“He was perfectly pleasant and charming. So, I was quite relaxed about it really,” Spencer told CNN in 1999, speaking about the couple’s marriage plans. “The fact that it was Prince Charles was obviously extraordinary, but otherwise I just, I was more interested in my exams and playing my sports at school.”

But that relationship has suffered a very public demise in recent days.

A war of words kicked off on Wednesday after Spencer said his former brother-in-law told him days after Diana’s death that she would soon be forgotten, according to an extract published by the Daily Mail from Spencer’s forthcoming book.

Buckingham Palace issued a rare rebuttal to Spencer’s claim, saying “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.”

Charles’ alleged comments had not previously been reported.

In the 1999 interview, Spencer told CNN that Charles was “perfectly polite” on the day of the funeral. “We all caught the train from London together to go to the burial at my family home, and nothing nasty has ever been said about it by him to me,” Spencer said.

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Some commentators have noted the impact such revelations could have on Princes William and Harry as they navigate their own rocky relationship, particularly following the surprise return of the Sussexes (who are known to maintain close relations with the Spencer family.)

Earlier this year, Harry and Meghan, alongside their children, visited their mother’s ancestral home where she is buried on a small island closed to the public.

Also in 2024, when Harry made a brief return to the UK for the 10th anniversary for his Invictus Games, he was supported by several members of the Spencer family who attended the celebration. Harry was seen chatting with his aunt, Lady Jane Fellowes who was seated directly behind him along with his uncle, before the event got underway.

The latest public clash between the Spencers and Windsors is therefore a test of alliances for the British royal clan. Many would have hoped the return of the Sussexes could mark a fresh start for the family. Instead, new fractures appear to be developing.

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当查尔斯·斯宾塞伯爵为已故的戴安娜王妃发表感人至深的悼词时，他承诺保护她的儿子们——他称他们为“血亲”——免受经常令他的妹妹“泪流满面、绝望不已”的痛苦。

近 30 年过去了，正如一家英国报纸所说，他在新书中提出的说法，可能会“将一把匕首刺入”那两个儿子的心脏。

据本周公布的节选内容显示，斯宾塞声称，戴安娜去世后，他的前妹夫——现任国王查尔斯——在电话里“勃然大怒”，因为斯宾塞认为戴安娜不会希望威廉和哈里参加她的葬礼游行。

国王还被指控说过“我们很快就会忘记她”——白金汉宫坚决否认了这一说法。

一些英国媒体和王室评论员质疑重提旧事的意义，而另一些人则为斯宾塞辩护，称他的书表明他将家庭置于王室传统之上。

查尔斯·斯宾塞于1964年5月20日出生于伦敦，出身于英国显赫的贵族家庭，与现代王室有着密切的联系。已故的伊丽莎白二世女王是他的教母。

1508 年，该家族购买了位于英格兰西北安普敦郡的奥尔索普庄园，距离伦敦以北约两个半小时车程，他们的祖宅至今仍在那里。

据他的个人网站介绍，斯宾塞曾在伊顿公学就读，这是一所位于英国伯克郡的著名学校，距离温莎城堡仅咫尺之遥。之后，他进入牛津大学莫德林学院学习，主修现代史。

后来，斯宾塞从事新闻工作，包括从 1986 年起在美国电视网 NBC 新闻担任出镜记者长达十年。

他著有多部书籍，包括探索其家族历史的作品，以及关于查理二世等皇室人物的传记。据其个人网站介绍，他与前三任妻子育有五女二子。

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戴安娜和斯宾塞年龄相差不到三岁，他们从小关系非常亲密，在位于西北安普敦郡绿树成荫的庄园奥尔索普庄园长大。

斯宾塞深情地回忆起他们的童年时光，并表示两人在一起度过了很多时间，尤其是在父母离婚期间。

但和许多兄弟姐妹一样，他们的关系也并非一帆风顺，有过争吵。

在 2002 年戴安娜王妃前管家盗窃案的审判中，一系列信件被披露，记录了两人之间的裂痕。

《每日电讯报》报道了这场审判，称戴安娜在与当时的查尔斯王子分居后，最初要求在家族庄园的“花园别墅”里拥有一处住所，这一请求最初得到了批准，但后来被斯宾塞拒绝，斯宾塞建议在庄园内寻找其他房产。

审判中引用的另一封信提到了兄妹俩的一次通话，戴安娜挂断了哥哥的电话。

尽管遭遇了这种打击，斯宾塞在 1997 年发表了一篇充满感情的悼词，称赞戴安娜是“同情心、责任感、风度和美丽的化身”。

在演讲中，他回忆起他们的童年时光，戴安娜“像母亲一样照顾我，在学校里和我争吵，周末陪我忍受往返于父母家之间的漫长火车旅程”。

他强烈谴责英国媒体对他妹妹的报道方式，斯宾塞称他妹妹是“现代最受追捕的人”。悼词赢得了教堂内外听众的掌声。

1977 年，当时的威尔士亲王查尔斯和戴安娜在奥尔索普庄园相遇后不久，斯宾塞就对查尔斯产生了好感。

“他非常和蔼可亲，魅力十足。所以，我当时其实挺放松的，”斯宾塞在1999年接受CNN采访时谈到两人的婚事计划时说道。“当然，他是查尔斯王子这件事非同寻常，但除此之外，我当时更关心的是我的考试和学校的体育运动。”

但这段关系最近几天已经公开破裂。

据《每日邮报》刊登的斯宾塞即将出版的新书节选，斯宾塞称他的前姐夫在戴安娜去世几天后告诉他，戴安娜很快就会被遗忘，由此引发了一场口水战。

白金汉宫罕见地对斯宾塞的说法予以反驳，称“兄弟之痛会蒙蔽理智，影响判断，并以他人无法察觉的方式影响记忆，即使在失去亲人多年之后也是如此。”

查尔斯的这些言论此前并未被报道过。

在1999年的一次采访中，斯宾塞告诉CNN，查尔斯在葬礼当天“彬彬有礼”。斯宾塞说：“我们一起从伦敦乘火车去我家参加葬礼，他从未对我说过任何难听的话。”

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一些评论员指出，这些爆料可能会对威廉王子和哈里王子造成影响，因为他们目前的关系正处于紧张状态，尤其是在苏塞克斯夫妇意外回归之后（众所周知，他们与斯宾塞家族保持着密切关系）。

今年早些时候，哈里和梅根带着孩子们参观了他们母亲的祖宅，她就安葬在一座不对公众开放的小岛上。

同样在2024年，哈里王子短暂返回英国参加他创办的“不可征服运动会”十周年庆典时，斯宾塞家族的多位成员到场支持。活动开始前，人们看到哈里王子与坐在他身后的姑姑简·费洛斯夫人以及他的叔叔交谈。

因此，斯宾塞家族和温莎家族之间最新的公开冲突是对英国王室联盟的一次考验。许多人曾希望苏塞克斯夫妇的回归能为王室带来新的开始。然而，新的裂痕似乎正在形成。