Royal expert shares Prince Harry's remarks about King Charles after Earl Spencer claims

Princess Diana's ⁠family accused the royals of showing a lack of support or care towards the late princess before her death

Following explosive claims from Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, royal commentators have resurfaced past remarks made by Prince Harry defending King Charles III’s actions as a grieving father.

The Spark: Earl Spencer’s Bombshell Memoir

Extracts from Earl Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, reignited long-standing grievances between the Spencer family and the royal household. Among the claims:

• Allegations of Neglect: Spencer alleged there was an "obvious lack of care" for Prince Harry after Diana’s death in August 1997, arguing that instead of "calm and nurture," the 12-year-old was left to "spin out of control" without a steady, caring hand.

• Contentious Funeral Clashes: Spencer claimed that during heated arguments over whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin, the then-Prince of Wales insisted on it and allegedly snapped, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough!"

• Buckingham Palace Pushback: In a rare official reaction, Buckingham Palace countered by stating that His Majesty is mindful that "the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment, and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

Prince Harry’s Defending Words Resurfaced

In response to Earl Spencer’s portrait of a cold, indifferent royal machine failing the young princes, royal commentator Angela Levin highlighted Prince Harry’s own candid reflections from a 2017 BBC documentary marking the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death:

"He was there for us, he was one out of two left and he tried to do his best and make sure we were protected and looked after. But you know, he was going through the same grieving process as we were."

Levin pointed out that Harry made a deliberate effort to put himself in his father's shoes, acknowledging that Charles had to step up as a single parent facing global scrutiny while mourning the mother of his children.

Two Conflicting Narratives

The clash places Prince Harry's public history at an interesting crossroads between his maternal uncle and his father:

Source	Core Claim / Stance	Context
Earl Spencer (Swan Song)	Royals showed an institutional lack of warmth; Charles lacked compassion; Harry was left unsupported.	Reflecting Diana’s family’s long-held distrust of the palace and funeral arrangements.
Prince Harry (2017 BBC Remarks)	Charles did the best he could under impossible circumstances while carrying his own grief.	Filmed before the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties and published Spare.
Buckingham Palace	Fraternal grief can distort and color recollections decades after a tragedy.	Firm rejection of the Earl’s version of private conversations.

While Harry later criticized aspects of his royal upbringing in his 2023 memoir Spare, his earlier defense serves as a reminder to commentators that Charles's conduct in the immediate wake of 1997 was not universally viewed through the harsh lens presented by the Spencer family.