Charles Spencer speak out Princess Diana\'s death and \'I\'m wishes he protect her\'

[sara8150]

Charles Spencer on His Sister Princess Diana's Death: 'I Wish I Could've Protected Her'
Charles Spencer Speaks About Regrets Over Princess Diana's Death
Double post auto-merged: August 08, 2017, 05:30:59 AM

Princess Diana's brother Charles opens up about her death: 'I wish I could have protected her'
http://us.hellomagazine.com/royalty/12017080723462/charles-spencer-discusses-princess-diana-death

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

He could have had he figured out a way she could have summered at Althorp that year. I know its hindsight, but those royal security guys who thought it wouldnt be safe, the house she chose...well how well did the alternative work for ya!!

[TLLK]

Odd that he's saying he felt protective of her because I've always had the feeling that she was the one looking out for him especially when they were children.

[amabel]

well she was 4 years older, so I imagine as children she did mother him.  But he MAY  have meant well by her but IMO in not advising her agianst the Morton book etc, and in speaking about her so frequently, he 's not doig her any good.
I think that he did think of  her as being mixed up and in need of brotherly advice..but he seems to have encouraged the Morton book which was the start of all the trouble...

[sandy]

He has had three marriages. Hopefully his third one will "take" and he will commit to the third wife. So he is not one to advise Diana. He can't take the high road. Maybe that was the problem here. Before Diana died, she could see the problems in the first marriage and the wife having bulimia. He had a girlfriend at the time Diana died and was cheating on his wife.

[royalanthropologist]

That letter was seriously cold. Diana must have been in tears at the bluntness.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

Diana, Princess of Wales would have been best grandmother Earl Spencer states | Royal | News | Express.co.uk

Im thinking of the phrase "useful idiots" is apt in this case (might be a little hard on McGrady, I do think he has Dianas interests at heart more than some of the other "gang" he just likes the attention too much IMO). Dickie, though, it fits. Its rich for him to cry about her protection.

But theyre not wrong about CS, wanting to now look like this old stately man in last nights special (how much he looks like Johnny).

To be fair, even to CS, his first priority was to his children and "companion" (id have to google to see what wife, divorce, or fling, he was mixed up with then) and the last few years of Diana's life were very hard on her relationships.

It could be that he perhaps feels a bit of guilt over turning her away in what ended up being her death, he should, Diana was the one that looked after him the most. I cant imagine what it would have been like for her to read his letter, its something we've all seen before, but it still always makes me feel awful for her.

While im here may as well talk about last nights special, of course like others not much new in terms of content(noteworthy exception was an ex of Charles). It felt like if Story of a Princess (still imo the top Diana doc, ever) was taken by People magazine and turned into a magazine style show. Easily digestible for ppl that likely wernt alive or very young during those times.

What it did highlight however, that I didnt expect, for those of us around and watching during those times, was the useful look back at things we may have took as par for the course, or "oh well thats progress/modern times". Things like the tremendous amount of pressure the media was putting on her and the marriage. I liked Jayne Fincher's take on the easy entry of hacks to the paparazzi with the new photo equipment at the time.

As much as I speak kindly of Arthur Edwards, seeing him and Harry Arnold talk about snapping Diana in the Bahamas while pregnant in a bikini made me think that this episode sort of emboldened and gave legitimacy for the paps to go all out "if the sun can do it, why cant we, im sure theyd say if called out".

It might be hindsight a bit knowing what would happen, but I do think more should have been done to stamp out stuff like that. No other royals had even close to that level of media intensity, and given what the RF knew about the state of, also the true purpose of the C&D marriage, and at that time, the assumption that divorce would be impossible, or at least open the door to another future abdication, all efforts should have been made to ease the transition.

It also would have given them a modicum (albeit prob not much)of control over the disparity of exposure of the two of them (i laughed so hard when they recalled the palace press person saying will someone please cover the Prince!!).

We've all played "accident investigator" here, especially me with my prickly grey toned questions, and while as much as I do think its worth looking at the role of ppl in her upbringing in terms of her issues getting used to the royals, I thought the show did a good job of reminding us that the unprecedented media attention and intrusion was a huge strain and impediment to her settling in to her role.

Part of the problem was the change in times from the old style royals to the modern world we have today, and I think the queens children were at the "wrong place, wrong time" so to speak. Im not saying it all would have been smooth sailing had they backed off, but when you watch the doc and you see the comments about them wondering if she sees them, and some of the hard looks she gives when she sees them, really should have given them pause. Anyone with any amount of human decency should have felt ashamed to intrude on her like that.

Those piercing eyes made you feel both incredibly hurt for her, and that you were seeing something you werent meant to see. While the press mentions a lot that they only do it cause the public wants it, the interesting thing is, that they would often not show in the mags, the pics of her upset like that (well towards the end they would, but im talking the earlier times). It reminded me, seeing all the ladders of the paps waiting to snap her, that it was a lot like watching how ones hamburgers were being made, in that, if you knew what was involved in it, you likely wouldnt want one.

So it was interesting to watch it, if nothing else was to look at things with a new light. Ina related thing, I was rewatching a snippet of the "Talking Personally" video and to see how they ask Charles if hes a vegetarian, my goodness, it was with the same tone and inflection as if they asked if he touched little kids or something!! Funny to see it today, how not out of the ordinary it is, and watching him measure his words not to say the "wrong" thing. Sometimes I think, at least for me, that its so interesting to look back at something you lived through with the new perspective of the changed times and latter years to see how things have changed.

[Trudie]

IMO Charles Spencer is the worst kind of PIG. Charles Spencer is interested in Charles Spencer only. At the time Diana was looking for her bolthole Charles was married to Victoria his first wife and saying his concerns for his wife and children is laughable as we all know how that turned out. Charles had a girlfriend at the time and he even brought her not his wife to Diana's funeral. It was quite rich of him to call out HRH. Charles for his behavior while Charles Spencer indulged in the same and worse ridiculing Victoria's eating disorder and lets go on to his second wife Pidge who had no idea he was dumping her within days of the birth of their child. NO protecting Diana while she was alive was not profitable however in death he is protecting her body as a deceased person is not inconvenient and allowing the public to pay respects for a fee. Rewrite history all you want Charles Spencer but Diana's friends, staff and what the public in the media learned no one has short memories.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

Probably deserves a thread of its own, but just watched the second part of The Story of Diana, feel all wrung out, so many emotions over the second half of her life.

Like a lot of news stuff, they left out a lot, things that I felt would have shown the context and motives a lot more, and in this age of "fake news" it was helpful to have so much knowledge to see where they would take liberties with things.

Since its designed for ppl too young to have remembered Diana, I worry about how some ppl come off in this story. Makes me want to send out copies of Story of a Princess by the truckload.

[sandy]

It was good overall except there were many commercials and too much attention on the media and journalism (Rupert Murdoch et al). More should have been spent on Diana herself.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

Thats one thing I hate having to watch stuff on TV is the number of commercials has grown a lot since the last time i did several years ago (love that internet cutting out the commercials). I also think too much was made of the press's role, seems they were looking for a quick, shorthand narrative, and try not to upset any one faction too much.

[Curryong]

Queen?s anguished letter that lays bare pain over Diana | Daily Mail Online

A rare letter from the Queen to a friend and Lady in Waiting is to be sold. In it she writes briefly, acknowledging the impact of Diana's death on the world.

[sandy]

I wonder if it's the same lady in waiting who made unfavorable comments about Diana on a documentary about the QUeen.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

I think that letter had more to do with the Queen being put out having to take her subjects into account, life of duty indeed, and after decades of shaky parenting and grand-parenting, to hide behind the boys as justification. I can only imagine how they both feel about being used as "human shields" that week for their grandparents and father.

[royalanthropologist]

I really do think the family wanted to give Diana the Wallis treatment in death. There would be no royal funeral and she would not be mentioned again. The public outcry forced them to change tact, but very reluctantly and only by way of tokenism. If you really read the queen's message carefully, you will see what she is saying:

I am your queen and it is an outrage that you should treat me thus. She was a "human being" and I am sorry for YOUR loss. The "lessons were learnt" all right but not the ones people like to imagine. The Windsors might even be more controlling now than they were before Diana.

If Kate or any of the consorts even showed a hint of depression or dissatisfaction; they would dealt with be immediately. That is why everyone is so compliant and lovey dovey these days. Those who do press interviews that are deemed outside the expectations are brought to heel with speed, hence the spate of resignations.

I can also see that Sarah is inching closer and closer to a possible remarriage with Andrew. The message is clear: if you play ball, we will be nice to you. If you make a fuss, bad things happen.

[sandy]

Kate has no cause to complain, she gets to spend a lot of quality time with  her family and she and William even spent Christmas at her parents'. Something previously unheard of. She has a faithful husband who  is very fond of her family. Realistically, the family would not have been able to give Diana the Wallis treatment because of royals William, Kate and Harry and her grandchildren George and Charlotte.   Also, the Queen did allow the WIndsors to be buried at Frogmore, together. The Windsors had reportedly been looking for a burial plot in Baltimore so that they could be buried together but the Queen allowed them both to be in a royal graveyard.