Charles Spencer calls for official security for Prince Harry and Meghan

London, United Kingdom. Charles Spencer has called for Prince Harry and Meghan to be given official security, saying media treatment of the couple resembles the scrutiny faced by his late sister, Princess Diana.

He spoke as Harry and Meghan returned to live in Britain, six years after stepping back from royal duties and moving to the United States.

Security concerns

Spencer said he supported protection for the couple because of Harry’s position as fifth in line to the British throne and his service as a former soldier.

“From a security aspect, as an uncle who’s seen his sister die in very, very preventable circumstances, I would veer towards protection,” he told the BBC.

Diana died aged 36 in a Paris car crash in 1997 as photographers pursued her on motorbikes. Her death prompted widespread grief and renewed scrutiny of the media’s coverage of her private life.

Spencer said tabloid treatment of Diana, Harry and Meghan could be “really, really unpleasant” and that people should learn from the experience.

Book allegations

Spencer made the comments while preparing to publish “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister”, a book about Diana that has drawn international attention for its criticism of her former husband, King Charles.

In the book, Spencer accused the then Prince of Wales of sounding “giddily elated” in the hours after Diana’s death. He also wrote that an angry Charles told him the world would forget Diana soon enough.

In a rare response, the palace said the King was “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”.

Remembering Diana

Asked by the BBC how he could prove the conversations had taken place, Spencer said he had included a specific line in his widely praised funeral eulogy to counter the alleged comments.

He ended the eulogy by saying Diana would “never be extinguished from our minds”.

Spencer said he wrote the book ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death to celebrate her life. He said their childhood had “never had a dull moment”, adding that both had ADHD, although Diana was never diagnosed.