On the one hand, Charles the King, barely four years on the throne, beset by poor health, a troublesome younger son and a disgraced brother, doing his best to steer the ship of monarchy through the choppiest of seas.
asserted
Charles → beset → seas
Not a perfect man, and by no means always the easiest – but one who has nonetheless matured over the years into a thoughtful, some might say even wise monarch, mindful of the mistakes of the past – and doggedly determined in his duty to crown and country.
uncertain
some → mature → duty
On the other, Charles Spencer, an aristocrat whose ancestry stretches back to James I, sole heir to a great estate and its manifold treasures, brother of a beautiful yet tragic princess, uncle to a future king and, it now transpires, the latest thorn in the King’s side.
asserted
it → stretch → side
People have asked, why now? Why wait almost 30 years to strike?
asserted
People → ask → years
Over the past few days, in his various interviews for the publication of his book, Swan Song, Spencer has gone to great lengths to deny either of those motives.
asserted
Spencer → go → motives
He delivers his excuses with fruity Etonian eloquence, but the bitterness seeps from his every pore like sweat.
asserted
bitterness → deliver → sweat
Attempting to frame the book as some sort of eulogy to his poor sister is a predictable but futile exercise.
asserted
Attempting → attempt → sister
The public will see this for what it is.
asserted
it → see → this
If any of them bother to read it, they will see that it is predominately about himself – which is entirely in character.
asserted
which → bother → character
Throughout his life, Spencer has only ever been motivated by his own desires, fuelled by a deep-seated sense of entitlement that stems from being the scion of a family that has always considered itself far nobler than the Windsors.
asserted
itself → motivate → Windsors
He attacks the King for his allegedly ill-chosen and callous words in the aftermath of Diana’s death; but words can be misinterpreted or misremembered; actions cannot.
uncertain
actions → attack → death
And when it comes to his actions, Spencer’s speak far louder than words.
asserted
it → come → words
Charles Spencer has attacked the King in the memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister for his allegedly ill-chosen and callous words in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death
The irony of him giving an interview to the BBC having blasted the Institution for duping Diana into the Martin Bashir Panorama interview will surely not have been lost on viewers.
uncertain
him → attack → viewers
But what are principles when it comes to promoting a book?
asserted
it → come → book
He chides the late Queen for offering to restore Diana’s HRH title posthumously, asking what the point would be: too late.
asserted
point → chide → title
But you could argue the same about Spencer’s speech at her funeral.
uncertain
you → argue → funeral
Where was Spencer when Diana begged him for a refuge on his estate, when she asked to spend a few weeks’ holiday there?
asserted
she → beg → holiday
Princess Diana needed a brave champion then, not now, almost 30 years cold in her grave.
asserted
Diana → need → grave
This is just another act of vengeful self-indulgence from a man who has enjoyed every privilege afforded by his status and wealth – and who yet never let duty or decency (or even gratitude) stand in the way of indulging his whims and desires.
asserted
duty → enjoy → whims
A man who has – throughout his life – acted in a manner wholly unbecoming of a member of the so-called nobility and for whom this latest act of calumny is perfectly in keeping with his poor character and lack of moral compass.
asserted
act → act → compass
The tragedy – for Spencer – is that he doesn’t even realise it.
asserted
he → realise → it
And like Harry, who clearly wrote his autobiography, Spare, as an ill-fated attempt to win back the support of the British public after that disastrous Oprah interview and other jaw-dropping attacks on his family, this will also backfire.
asserted
this → write → family
Because, inevitably, as well as re-examining the relationship between King Charles and Princess Diana, this book turns the spotlight on the colossal cad who authored it, reminding one of that old adage: people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
asserted
people → re → stones
How Spencer can lecture the King on his treatment of Diana is beyond me.
asserted
lecture → lecture → me
As for being ‘gaslit’ (as he claims the Palace’s statement in response to the book made him feel)… well, he should know.
uncertain
he → gaslit → book
He’s past master at it.
asserted
He → ’ → it
Let us examine the evidence.
asserted
us → let → evidence
His first wife, Victoria Lockwood, a fragile, beautiful creature who also – very much like Spencer’s sister – was troubled by anxiety, addiction and an eating disorder.
asserted
who → trouble → anxiety
It is claimed he responded by having an affair when she was pregnant with their first child.
asserted
she → claim → child
King Charles is doing his best to steer the ship of monarchy through the choppiest of seas, beset by poor health, a troublesome younger son and a disgraced brother
Earl Spencer kisses the hand of his first wife Victoria Lockwood on their wedding day in 1989, where a young Prince Harry served as a page boy
He moved his family to South Africa, before divorcing her under South African law (conveniently less punitive than British law) where, even though he was described in Lockwood's brief as a ‘serial adulterer’ and details of his cruel treatment of his wife were widely reported, he ended up paying her – the mother of his three elder daughters and elder son – a fraction of his immense inherited wealth in settlement.
His second wife, Caroline (aka Pidge), whom he married after her first husband, the publicist Matthew Freud, ran off with Elisabeth Murdoch, was made of stronger stuff.
asserted
husband → do → stuff
During that divorce, details of his 'unreasonable behaviour' were kept private.
asserted
details → keep → behaviour
But I recall sitting next to the earl at a dinner just before they were due to be married.
asserted
they → recall → dinner
It was many years ago, but the conversation has stuck in my mind.
asserted
conversation → stick → mind
Spencer was very interested to hear my views – and the views of the rather attractive woman to his other side – on adultery.
asserted
Spencer → hear → adultery
Was it acceptable, he wanted to know, and if so to what degree.
asserted
he → want → ?
I don’t recall my reply – I was nervous and probably burbled something stupid – or worse, dull.
asserted
I → recall → something
But I do remember thinking it was an odd question for someone who was just about to walk down the aisle.
asserted
who → remember → aisle
That union produced two children, a son and a daughter.
asserted
union → produce → children
His third wife, the entrepreneur and philanthropist Karen Gordon, gave him another child and 13 years of her life, before he ditched her too, for his current wife.
asserted
he → give → wife
Gordon also invested significant time and effort into renovating the earl’s estate, including restoring the walled garden and redesigning the Round Oval Lake (Princess Diana’s final resting place).
asserted
Gordon → invest → Lake
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
