Earl Spencer, Family and Althorp Museum

[wymanda]

Originally Posted by sesa

After Diana's funeral, I really like how he spoke up for himself and defended his sister.

Yes but even then he exhibited the height of bad manners. He showed no respect for his godmother - abusing her and her family in public (be his godmother the Queen or the Char-woman) and (be public Westminster Abbey or the Parish Church). All this also done in front of his greiving nephews. I was always taught that if you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all.

[theprincess]

''Slimy Spencer with new beauty''
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006600500,00.html

[georgiea]

The last article posted - is it really acturate?

Earl Spencer is not in his fifties. He is younger than Diana.
Diana this year would have turned 46 I think.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by georgiea

The last article posted - is it really acturate?
Earl Spencer is not in his fifties. He is younger than Diana.

Earl Spencer was born on 20 May 1964, so he is 42.
With a London tabloid now calling him "Slimy Spencer" he appears to be losing much of the gravitas he acquired at the time of his sister's death and funeral.

[Skydragon]

The gravitas he acquired from some people after his little outburst, was very fleeting. Many people couldn't understand how he could have chosen such an event to have a temper tantrum.

It was a bit like the newspapers, trying to point the finger at anyone, rather than accept his own bad behavior towards his sister.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by wymanda

Yes but even then he exhibited the height of bad manners. He showed no respect for his godmother - abusing her and her family in public (be his godmother the Queen or the Char-woman) and (be public Westminster Abbey or the Parish Church). All this also done in front of his greiving nephews. I was always taught that if you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all.

Couldn't agree more.

Although it wasn't widely known at the time, Earl Spencer's personal behaviour wasn't so exemplary-he had no right to be pointing a finger at anyone else.

A eulogy is intended to pay tribute to the life of the person being eulogized-not for personal attacks.

Where was Earl Spencer's defense of his sister when she was alive?

[Lily97]

No where to be seen Sassie. He never defended Diana when she was alive. As I recall, the one time she did try to lean on him and wanted to live on the estate he changed his mind. What a kind brother he was!

Lily

[sassie]

Originally Posted by Lily97

No where to be seen Sassie. He never defended Diana when she was alive. As I recall, the one time she did try to lean on him and wanted to live on the estate he changed his mind. What a kind brother he was!

Lily

Well, to be fair, Ken Wharfe did state in his book that Spencer changed his mind about letting Diana have the Garden House on the Althorp grounds after Wharfe had inspected it and told him it wasn't practical for security reasons. Spencer offered Diana several alternatives that would have worked better, including the Pheasantry, another house on the estate, but she turned him down. Spencer didn't change his mind out of mean spiritedness-that was Paul Burrell's slant on the issue-and it's no secret that Burrell has his own axe to grind where the Spencers are concerned.

But, we also never heard Spencer speak in defense of his sister during her lifetime. If the Royal Family's treatment of Diana bothered him so deeply, he sure kept quiet about it. If he was concerned with his sister's battle with bulimia, he kept that a big secret as well.

It was cruel and insensitive of him to deliver the remarks against the Queen and the Royal Family with Diana's sons sitting there, forced to listen, on the day they were burying their beloved mother far sooner than they should have. Spencer spoke of Diana's family 'protecting' the boys-well, where was his 'protection' then?

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by sassie

But, we also never heard Spencer speak in defense of his sister during her lifetime. If the Royal Family's treatment of Diana bothered him so deeply, he sure kept quiet about it.

but if I remember correctly he was quoted openly in that 1992 bombshell book in which it was revealed how the RF <really> treated Diana, what with Charles and Camilla, etc. I rmember him being quoted in that book to defend his sister if I'm not mistaken.

[princess olga]

What I find weird though but this is perhaps for another thread, is how Spencer's royal nephews managed to snub HIM and the entire Spencer family after their mother's untimely death! Even their grandmother, they hardly visited her in her last years according to the media. Why oh why do William and Harry snub their mother's family?

[Elspeth]

Well, when you say "according to the media," you may have answered your own question at least to an extent. If the media can create controversy or stir up emotions, they're likely to sell more copies of whatever they're producing. Frances Shand Kydd wasn't in good health for several years before she died, and it does sound from her biography as though she saw her Windsor grandchildren sometimes, even if not very often. We don't know how often she saw her other grandchildren, for that matter. And as far as the Earl is concerned, he was living in South Africa for some of the time and he'd pretty much declared war on the royal family with that speech at Diana's funeral, so William and Harry might have been a bit wary about getting too close.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by princess olga

but if I remember correctly he was quoted openly in that 1992 bombshell book in which it was revealed how the RF <really> treated Diana, what with Charles and Camilla, etc. I rmember him being quoted in that book to defend his sister if I'm not mistaken.

If you are speaking of the Morton book, I beg to differ. Spencer is quoted a few times about their childhood and the Spencer family, but there are no quotes or opinions attributed to him that address the Royal Family, the state of his sister's marriage, her bulimia, her children, his brother in law's infidelity, etc. Several other people offered opinions and viewpoints to Morton about those things, but Spencer did not, nor did he speak in his sister's defense.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

Well, when you say "according to the media," you may have answered your own question at least to an extent. If the media can create controversy or stir up emotions, they're likely to sell more copies of whatever they're producing. Frances Shand Kydd wasn't in good health for several years before she died, and it does sound from her biography as though she saw her Windsor grandchildren sometimes, even if not very often. We don't know how often she saw her other grandchildren, for that matter. And as far as the Earl is concerned, he was living in South Africa for some of the time and he'd pretty much declared war on the royal family with that speech at Diana's funeral, so William and Harry might have been a bit wary about getting too close.

Good point, we don't really know whether or not they remained close! I should probably stop reading things like the 'Daily Mail', . OTOH it is known they've been invited to a few vacations with Jane and Sarah's families, that they declined, but that may well be because both boys don't exactly have eons of free time I take it. I don't know, also from what Spencer himself has stated publicly, I don't get the impression of the two princes being close with Diana's siblings. may also have to do with the fact that Diana, in her last days, wasn't exactly close to her mother and brother for example..

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by sassie

If you are speaking of the Morton book, I beg to differ. Spencer is quoted a few times about their childhood and the Spencer family, but there are no quotes or opinions attributed to him that address the Royal Family, the state of his sister's marriage, her bulimia, her children, his brother in law's infidelity, etc. Several other people offered opinions and viewpoints to Morton about those things, but Spencer did not, nor did he speak in his sister's defense.

but the fact he was quoted in that book at all, that I took as an endorsement of him to his sister's decision not taking the situation lying down any more. I took it as some form of defending her.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by princess olga

but the fact he was quoted in that book at all, that I took as an endorsement of him to his sister's decision not taking the situation lying down any more. I took it as some form of defending her.

Well, that's your interpretation-but I respectfully say that it is not mine. The majority of quotes from Spencer in the book were old ones that Morton lifted from other sources. There's no evidence that he ever came to her aid during the height of her bulimia or the troubles in her marriage. Before her death, Spencer never spoke out to defend his sister on any of the points he made against the Queen and the Royal Family in his eulogy, and the fact that he chose then to do so, in the presence of her sons, in hardly commendable. JMO.

[Duchess]

not that i condone spencer's outburst at the funeral...i agree it wasn't the time or place for something like that...but let me put this out there and get your thoughts:

perhaps he didn't publicly defend diana but might have in private? i'm thinking that if he had said anything publicly it might have made things more difficult for her. any thoughts??

[Lily97]

Perhaps Duchess, correct me if I am wrong but did any of Diana's family defend her when she was alive?

Lily

[Skydragon]

Diana had fallen out with her mother and had a troubled relationship with her sisters at the time of her death and throughout her marriage.