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Earl Spencer says press treatment of the Sussexes ‘echoes’ Diana

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Cite

Besley, J. (2026, September 20). Earl Spencer says press treatment of the Sussexes ‘echoes’ Diana. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl-spencer-harry-king-princess-b1297644.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-20 · by John Besley

Quick Summary

In a BBC interview set to air Sunday, Earl Spencer criticizes the press for their treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, comparing it to how they covered Princess Diana. He describes this coverage as having a “cancerous influence” and suggests that people should learn from Diana’s example. The earl also comments on the King's response to his claims about Diana, accusing him of gaslighting.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Based on the articles provided, here is a summary of Earl Spencer's comments regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle:

Earl Charles Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, has expressed concern over the media treatment faced by his nephew Prince Harry and his wife Meghan. In an interview with BBC, he stated that the tabloid coverage of both Diana and Harry & Meghan can be "really unpleasant" and suggested that people should learn from Diana's experience.

Spencer emphasized that it would be prudent to provide official security for Harry and Meghan due to their current media situation, especially considering Harry's position as fifth in line to the British throne and his background as a former soldier. He noted that Diana died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris while being chased by photographers on motorbikes, an event which prompted questions about whether the media shared blame for her death after years of invasive coverage.

Spencer's comments come as he prepares to publish a book about his sister Diana, which has been critical of King Charles (Diana's former husband). The interview highlights parallels between how Diana was treated by the press and the current situation faced by Harry and Meghan, who have previously cited the media environment as a factor in their decision to step back from royal duties.

Overall, Spencer advocates for learning from past experiences to protect individuals like Harry and Meghan from similar negative consequences.

Written for “Earl Spencer On Media Treatment Of Harry And Meghan” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Earl Spencer On Media Treatment Of Harry And Meghan
Politics · 9 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 4 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 63/100
BBC News
Hedges 4 of 29 claims Outlet record 68/100
National Post
Hedges 6 of 21 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different events: one involves King Charles issuing a statement about Princess Diana's brother's criticism, while the other is an interview where Earl Spencer comments on press treatment of Harry and Meghan.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Sussexes' situation and do not describe the same specific incident.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's interviews: one focuses on his claims about the King and the other on his comments regarding press treatment of Harry and Meghan.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's comments: one regarding Princess Diana's treatment by the royals and the other about press coverage of Harry and Meghan echoing that of Diana.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
4 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8077 article(s) · 68 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 68 correction(s)

Who wrote this

John Besley
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 I am not well enough to go to the Philippines but I will speak to anyone who wants to talk to me.
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🔮 In an interview with the BBC, set to be aired on Sunday evening, the earl described the press’s coverage of Harry and Meghan as having a “cancerous influence”, adding it would be “beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example”.
🔮 “To get embroiled in further conflict would only do damage,” he said.
🔮 “I literally spoke to her six days before she died, because she asked me to do a charity gig for her because she couldn’t make it, and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s absolutely fine’,” he told the paper.
Also by John Besley
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by John Besley →

Topics

BBC News Group The Mail on Sunday the Daily Mail the Mirror Group

Subjects

Diana PERSON · 9× Harry PERSON · 6× Meghan PERSON · 4× BBC ORG · 3× Charles PERSON · 2× Oprah Winfrey PERSON · 2× Elton John PERSON · 1× Liz Hurley PERSON · 1× Sussexes PERSON · 1× the Daily Mail ORG · 1×

Narrative

Speaking about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements involving her sons, the earl said: “(The King) went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 In an interview with the BBC, set to be aired on Sunday evening, the earl described the press’s coverage of Harry and Meghan as having a “cancerous influence”, adding it would be “beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example”.
2026-09-19 · Evening Standard
Earl Spencer doubles down on King allegations as fresh claims published · assertive framing
2026-09-20 · Evening Standard
Earl Spencer says press treatment of the Sussexes ‘echoes’ Diana · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 4 hedged)

In an interview with the BBC, set to be aired on Sunday evening, the earl described the press’s coverage of Harry and Meghan as having a “cancerous influence”, adding it would be “beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example”. asserted
it → set → example
He said: “If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant. asserted
they → say → that
“And I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example. asserted
it → think → example
“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.” asserted
it → ’m → life
The earl said Diana was “really brought low” by the “criticism” she received from the media, adding it was a “pity” to see “echoes of that” in the press coverage of Harry and Meghan. asserted
it → say → Harry
The Sussexes, who returned to the UK from the US on August 26, have long been critical of their treatment by the media, with Harry in 2021 telling Oprah Winfrey the tabloid press had created a “toxic environment”. asserted
press → return → environment
In July, he and six others, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, lost a privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, but Harry has previously won legal battles against the Mirror Group and News Group. asserted
Harry → include → Group
The earl’s latest comments come after he accused the King of gaslighting him following Buckingham Palace’s response to explosive claims that Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” after Diana’s death. uncertain
we → come → death
The earl has made a series of damning claims about the King in a new memoir chronicling Diana’s life that prompted the palace to push back, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason”. He accused the King of gaslighting him and called the response a “rather poor imitation of the ‘recollections may vary’ quote” – the late Queen’s response to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s allegations in their Oprah Winfrey interview, The Mail on Sunday reports. uncertain
Mail → make → Sunday
Read More He said: “It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the King. asserted
you → read → King
“It was astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I’d lied without the King being able to deny what I’d said. asserted
I → try → what
“I also thought it was a rather poor imitation of the ‘recollections may vary’ quote, which was a much more elegant way of putting things, but in these circumstances entirely out of place.” uncertain
which → think → place
He also said “Diana would be cheering from the rafters at this book”. asserted
Diana → say → book
In response to the claims made in the memoir, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said on Wednesday: “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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.” uncertain
others → make → loss
In an extract of the BBC interview released on Friday, the earl insisted he is “telling the truth” and described the King’s comments about his sister as “monstrous”. asserted
he → release → sister
Speaking about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements involving her sons, the earl said: “(The King) went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened. asserted
I → speak → idea
“And then he stopped, and I thought, ‘Oh now he’s going to pull himself together and say something more appropriate’. asserted
he → stop → something
“And then he said, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.” asserted
We → say → her
Asked whether he has “evidence” of the King’s comments, the earl told the BBC: “I told friends and family straight away, close friends and family, about what had been said, because it was so monstrous.” asserted
it → ask → friends
He added: “I’m telling the truth.” asserted
I → add → truth
Charles is said to have made the comments about his ex-wife in a row with the earl over whether the then Prince William and Prince Harry should follow Diana’s funeral cortege. asserted
William → say → cortege
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