Up next in 10
Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, has spoken out on the media's treatment of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, noting it "echoes" behaviour faced by his late sister.
Are Harry and Meghan really facing the same treatment as Diana?
00:00 James Hanson shares his take
09:33 Some texters don't agree with James...
10:05 Caller Anna doesn't think Harry and Meghan have been treated worse than Diana, but reckons Harry's 'footprints' are behind Earl Spencer's new book
16:12 A texter tells James that Earl Spencer is only setting the record straight with his new memoir
17:10 Caller Graham believes both Diana and the Sussexes 'enjoyed' public attention they received
21:38 Texter Tara believes Harry and Meghan are going through 'a version' of what Diana endured
Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp
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0:00
Fresh from the controversy over his new book, Earl Spencer has now told the BBC
0:04
that the way the media treats Harry and Meghan has echoes of what happened to his sister Diana
0:11
So here's what I want to explore with you this hour. Is it fair to make that comparison
0:17
Have Harry and Meghan really been as badly treated as Diana? 0345 6060 973 is the number to call
0:28
Send me a message on WhatsApp on the same number, or you can text me 84850
0:33
Have Harry and Meghan really been as badly treated by the press, by the royal family, I suppose you could say, by society at large, as Princess Diana was
0:43
I'll give you my take on that comparison in a moment. First of all, though, I've got to level with you
0:49
I'm getting fed up of Earl Spencer already. This is a man who gave an interview back in 1998 in which he said he would never profit from Diana's death
0:59
And yet here we are in 2026 and he's basically saying here's a bunch of salacious stories that I'm selling to the Daily Mail because I need a quick buck
1:05
I mean, it's pretty despicable, is it not? And look, who knows, who knows what the truth is behind some of the claims he's been coming out with about King Charles
1:15
and about what he may or may not have said in the immediate aftermath of Princess Diana's tragic death
1:20
But do we need to be hearing it at all? And if he did feel some kind of compulsion to out King Charles
1:29
for what he considers to be the heartless comments made in the immediate aftermath of his ex-wife's death
1:34
then why has he waited so long? Why are we here 29 years later and he's only seen fit to mention it now
1:40
Is it because he's got a book out and he wants to flog it? I mean, do we know how much Earl Spencer is being paid for this book
1:47
I mean, you can't buy the publicity he's had this week with all these stories
1:51
Do we know how much the Daily Mail is paying him to serialise all of these claims
1:57
So just on Earl Spencer, I don't know about you, I'm getting a bit fed up
2:02
But as for his claim that Harry and Meghan are being treated in much the same way
2:09
as his late sister was before her tragic death, I'm afraid to say that is also, like much else I suspect that has come out of Earl Spenzer's mouth this week
2:19
a load of baloney let's just be really clear about this have Harry and Meghan at times received some very negative press
2:28
yes has some of it been completely unfair? yes but has most of it been proportionate and legitimate criticism
2:36
I would also say yes and there is a lot of revisionist history that goes on by the defenders of the Sussexes
2:45
They are not the victims of some tabloid smear. They have brought a lot of the legitimate criticism that heads their way on themselves
2:55
People forget this now. But Harry and Meghan had a glowing press for years
3:01
I mean, let's just start with Harry, then we'll get on to Meghan. And Harry was widely seen as one of, if not the most popular member of the royal family
3:10
probably with the exception of the late Queen Elizabeth. He was seen really as the most popular royal, the one you could imagine yourself going to the pub with
3:19
And Meghan, when she came on the scene, had a glowing press as well
3:25
People were very, very receptive to the fact that here was a successful woman
3:29
who had an independent career of her own as a very successful notable actress i think people
3:37
admired the fact that she was marrying into the royal family i think people welcome the fact that
3:42
she was in every possible sense diversifying the royal family and i think people thought good for
3:47
harry and good for megan and they wish them well and during their engagements and up to and
3:52
including their wedding, they had a pretty glowing press. The only reason it started to turn
4:00
was because reports started to emerge about the way she was allegedly treating certain members of her household staff
4:08
which is a perfectly valid story for the press to report on
4:12
And here's what I also think happened with Harry and Meghan and where I think their victim complex started to develop
4:18
I suspect that Meghan in particular is someone, and there's no harm in this, I mean, you know, she chose to go into public life as an actress
4:26
is someone who quite likes the spotlight, quite likes the attention being on her
4:31
And I think when she married into the royal family, and she must have known or should have known
4:37
certainly up to a point, what she was marrying into, I think she thought it would all be like those first few years
4:45
where she received huge, huge amounts of coverage. You know, the wall-to-wall coverage of her wedding, for example
4:51
the engagement, all of that, I think should have loved that. And I think she realised in the weeks and months after her wedding
5:00
that she would never get quite the same scale of coverage ever again
5:04
because the very nature of being married to The Spare, to use the title of Harry's own autobiography
5:11
which made some pretty disgraceful claims in it, by the by, the very nature of marrying The Spare
5:19
is that as their life goes on, they will become, sadly, less and less relevant
5:24
and they will receive fewer and fewer column inches devoted to them because, of course, they will fall down the line of succession
5:31
and people will come along and take the attention off them. And I think Meghan suddenly realised in the aftermath of the wedding hang on a minute I not going to receive anywhere near the same level of coverage ever again as I have in the run to in the immediate aftermath of my wedding And she realised that the brutal reality of being a working member of the royal family
5:53
is quite a lot of mundane, tedious, hard work. It's turning up at, I don't know, some cottage
5:59
hospital in Staffordshire somewhere, or a youth charity in Lanarkshire, and unveiling
6:05
a plaque or, you know, smiling nicely for the cameras. I'm sure it can be quite boring and quite
6:09
tedious. And a lot of it doesn't get much more coverage than a few pictures in the local paper
6:14
But that's sort of the gig. And I think at that point she thought, well, up with this, I will not
6:18
put. I want the spotlight back on me. And then, of course, they decide they want to quit and go to
6:22
California, which they are within their rights to do. And I personally would have advised Megan
6:27
from the outset, well, carry on working. You are an actress. Carry on being in various different TV
6:33
productions and films and you name it go for it that's your job but when they moved to california
6:40
when they gave that disgraceful oprah interview in which many of the claims they have never
6:44
substantiated when harry made those accusations about his own family and his book spare
6:49
i think it's entirely legitimate for the press to ask questions about whether
6:53
those claims are true whether it is needed to make those claims to air that dirty laundry in public
7:02
I really don't think it is fair to say that Harry and Meghan have been badly treated by the press
7:09
there may have been one or two stories or one or two nasty columns by writers in newspapers
7:16
but as a whole I just don't see it and people often like to say well look at the coverage that
7:23
Kate Middleton receives the Princess of Wales she receives glowing coverage and Meghan does not
7:27
well that's because they carry themselves in very different ways and I would actually remind you that
7:31
when Kate Middleton first came on the scene, she actually got some very, very negative coverage from the press
7:37
far more so than Meghan ever did when she first came on the scene. Remember Waitie Katie
7:41
That was the nickname they gave to Kate Middleton when she was dating Prince William
7:47
because, so say, the accusation was she was hanging around too long to be proposed to
7:52
I mean, it was reeking of misogyny. Meghan never had any of that when she first came on the scene
7:58
and the negative coverage that Harry and Meghan have had over recent years
8:04
is just people reacting to things they have said, to decisions they have made, to demands they have made
8:12
for example, demanding that they have taxpayer-funded security but not perform any royal duties
8:18
It is fair enough for people to scrutinise them. And so for Earl Spencer to now claim that they are victims
8:27
and have been hounded in a similar way to how Diana was
8:32
I think is pretty disgraceful. I have no doubt that Meghan Markle in particular
8:38
probably likes to cast herself as Diana 2.0 because there's a certain glamour that can be attached to that
8:45
But I think it is a betrayal of Diana's memory to draw that comparison
8:50
And I also just think it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. And I wonder what you think
8:54
When you hear Charles Spencer saying, that the way the media, maybe society at large
9:00
maybe the royals have treated Harry and Meghan has echoes of the way Diana was treated
9:05
Do you agree? Do you think I've got this all wrong? Or do you actually think that Harry and Meghan
9:12
and the scrutiny they have faced is just that? It's scrutiny. It's legitimate criticism
9:18
It is not hounding. 03456060973 is the number to call. Send me a message on WhatsApp on the same number
9:26
or you can text me 84850. Have Harry and Meghan really been as badly treated as Princess Diana
9:34
Got a message here from someone who says, wow, this is some intro, mate. You're chatting nonsense. The press and media killed Diana
9:40
They have smeared Meghan due to her colour, just like you are doing now
9:46
When have I mentioned her colour once? In everything I have said so far this hour
9:51
This person says, neither of these people seem self-aware. Harry talks about his family like they are trash
9:56
who on earth talks about their own family like that, then goes on to tell people that he killed two Taliban in his book
10:03
And Meghan, well, she is Meghan. Anna is in Maidenhead. Good afternoon, Anna. What would you like to say
10:09
Good afternoon, James. Charles Spencer, oh my goodness, he's flogging a book
10:16
and of course he would like it to be as salacious as possible
10:20
because he's got to get the money back for anything he's laid out
10:26
I don't think that Meghan and Harry have been treated worse than Princess Diana
10:35
because they seem to be doing a very good job themselves. And on top of that, prior to Harry and Meghan moving over here
10:48
Harry allegedly made a visit to Ulstrop to meet Earl Spencer. Could that be possible
10:58
Because my feeling is that Harry's footprints are all over that book
11:04
from what I'm hearing in the press and also on TV. What do you mean by that
11:10
When you say his fingerprints are all over this book? His footprints
11:15
As in you think he may be behind why Earl Spencer is speaking out now
11:20
why he's making these claims now? No I think that Earl Spencer is obviously flogging a book And Harry and Charles Spencer have always been quite close
11:35
My feeling is that Harry is probably just trying to dig in a little bit to get his point over
11:46
because I did see a clip of an interview that apparently is on tonight
11:52
and Earl Spencer was asked a specific question about Harry and Meghan
11:59
and there was a very brief intake of breath and I thought, he's making something up
12:07
It was just the body language that did it. Well, I also, I mean, I mentioned earlier
12:12
he gave an interview to Charles Spencer in 1998 in which he said the exact quote
12:16
I will never profit from Diana's death. now I am assuming he is being pretty well paid for this book
12:24
I am assuming he is being pretty well paid by the Daily Mail for the serialisation of said book
12:32
so is that not profiting from Diana's death? well it was also following Princess Diana's death
12:42
and I thought like many many people that she was really lovely
12:47
she really was and she did get the back end of the tale, if you like
12:55
You know, the people were quite happy to do her down and everything
12:59
OK, she did used to contact the press about where she was going
13:05
and things like that, but that was her. But when she was interred on the island at Oldstrop
13:15
the visitor numbers went sky high. so is that not profiting well I don't know about that but but I think it is certainly true to say
13:27
that it is pretty grubby for Earl Spencer almost 30 years on from Diana's tragic death
13:35
to now be coming forward making claims that he never saw fit to mention in the 30 years
13:40
prior and I mean we were exploring this actually on my on my early breakfast show yesterday morning
13:46
about the extent to which the British people are still kind of obsessed with Princess Diana
13:52
And, you know, I'll be honest with you, Anna, look, I'm a 33-year-old bloke, so I was a bit too young to really remember her death
13:58
and the funeral and the reaction to it. But I do think the country went a bit insane
14:03
in the immediate aftermath. I mean, clearly it was an awful tragedy, but I think we lost our collective minds
14:08
And I think we lose our collective minds when we have a conversation about Harry and Meghan
14:12
I try not to talk about Harry and Meghan because there's something not right
14:20
There's a reason why they're not buying a property over here. I think that they're just sussing it out to see what the feeling of people that care about them, you know
14:34
There's something definitely not right there. My feeling is, and it is only a feeling, that they are not going to sell the house in California
14:46
They've got a go-to place if it doesn't work out here. And you're absolutely right about tax-funded security
14:57
I would be completely against it because I pay taxes and I don't want my taxes to go to a multimillionaire
15:04
who could afford his own security, which I'm sure would be a very good company
15:12
but why should we have to pay for that? Yeah, I kind of agree
15:17
I kind of agree. The deal is that you do the royal duties and then you get the funding
15:21
Exactly. And while they are going along as supposedly non-royals, not profiting from anything, any endeavour they go into
15:32
then I just cannot see the point in that and I think many people would agree
15:39
that if they want their own security but then to turn round and say these things
15:46
about Charles Windsor, the king is really not very nice and it's very unusual for the palace
15:56
to release any kind of... Any kind of statement but they obviously felt compelled on this occasion
16:03
given the nature of the claims that Earl Spencer was making. Anna, really appreciate the call
16:07
Thank you. Anna in Maidenhead there. 0345 6060 973 is the number
16:12
T messages to say, James, every royal Tom, Dick and Butler have been allowed to write books about Diana
16:17
so why not Earl Spencer? He is only setting the record straight. James messages to say
16:23
your own introduction proved the point. You said you had no doubt that Meghan envisaged herself
16:27
as Diana 2.0, a completely unsubstantiated invention of your own mind and immediately followed that as a betrayal of Diana's memory
16:34
Perfect example of the joke journalism that hounds them. Well, James, we have something called freedom of speech in this country
16:40
They are public figures, whether you like it or not. If they wanted to completely withdraw from public life
16:47
they could do, but they haven't. They are still very much part of public life
16:52
even if they are no longer working royals. It is fair enough, especially given
16:56
as we've just been discussing with Anna, at a time they are demanding taxpayer funding
17:00
They want me to pay for their security. So I'm allowed an opinion. I'm allowed an opinion if I'm meant to be funding in part their lifestyle
17:09
03456060973 is the number Let go to Graham in Tamworth Afternoon Graham Hi afternoon eh What would you like to say I sent a text in I think that Diana courted the press I not a big fan I won be the Speaker of the Dead I don want to do
17:27
But I think she courted the press. She had numerous affairs. She went with the captain of the England rugby team
17:37
She had various other affairs. But her interviews, you could see quite clearly
17:41
that she enjoyed what she was doing. And I don't think that Harry and Meghan are being treated
17:48
anything like Diana was. I think they're doing the same. They want the privacy
17:53
So why come back here and tell everybody where they're going? You know, I mean, complain about it all the time
17:59
So you don't think, because there are people, you know, I've got texts coming through from people who say
18:03
no, no, no, they have been very hard done by. and that some of the press coverage has been completely OTT
18:08
and that they were, in a sense, hounded out of Britain. Now, I don't buy that, but you hear that a lot, Graham
18:14
I don't agree with that at all. I mean, Harry was fine
18:20
We used to think he was great when he was in the army, when he picked us games, he really was
18:26
And since he's met Meghan, to me, he's lost everything. I mean, he does things underhanded
18:33
he doesn't really I mean the things he said about the royal family
18:37
at interviews I've gone off from both I've never really been a big fan of Diana
18:46
Harry used to think he's great not anymore I'm afraid I've got this feeling that him and Spencer are
18:56
I think they're in coach I think he came back from America
19:00
just as he knew the book was going to be written and he knew what was going to go in it
19:06
And I think he's fully aware of what's going to do. I don't know why Spencer waited 30 years to do that, I'm sure
19:13
But, I mean, to say, you know, that he looks as if he won the lottery, it was a phone call
19:18
He never saw him. Well, he said he sounded giddy like a lottery winner
19:23
So he didn't say he looked like a lottery winner, because obviously, as you say, it was a phone call
19:27
Well, we're the same age. We're the same. Martha and I have a similar age group to the Kings
19:32
So we went through, I mean, we were a little bit older, 18. We watched their cartoon and I thought, then, and then I thought, well, she's 20
19:41
I mean, he's 12 years old, isn't he? Well, what do you mean Charles and Diana
19:46
Yeah, I mean, sadly, I think that marriage failed them both and they should never have got married in the first place
19:50
because, you know, they never really loved each other or certainly Charles, I don't think, ever fully, properly loved Diana
19:55
because he wanted to marry Camilla, really, and he's ended up with a woman he probably should have been with all along
20:01
And I think they were both, in a sense, victims in that marriage of the outdated ways of the royal family and the fact that it was, you know, it was seen as unacceptable for Charles to marry a divorcee as Camilla was at a time
20:16
And there was this very old fashioned view that the future king had to marry a virgin
20:21
And it was, yeah, it was just really unfortunate, but it was a completely different time. Yeah, it was. It was unfortunate
20:27
I didn't say I disagreed with the marriage at the time. I wasn't quite sure why it was being pushed into it
20:34
But, yeah, I think you're right. I think in those days you've got to marry a virgin
20:40
Things have changed. To me, I'm really pleased that they're all families the way they are
20:45
You know, I mean, Prince Philip is doing a great job. I just think things have improved
20:51
But as for Harry and Meghan, nah. I hope they never come back, to be honest
20:57
well they are back I mean back in royalty you don't want them as working royals again absolutely
21:04
well I don't know I wonder I certainly hope on a human level
21:09
that Harry is able to make up with his brother that Harry and Meghan are able to
21:13
kind of rebuild ties you know I'm prepared to forgive and forget Harry and Meghan when it comes to some of the stuff they've said in the past
21:19
now it's easy for me to say I'm not Prince William, I'm not the King
21:23
I'm not Camilla, I'm not the Princess of Wales so it's not really for me to say whether they should forgive them
21:30
for some of the stuff that has been said. But it would be nice to think that as a family things could start to heal
21:37
Graham, thank you. Graham and Tamworth there. Here's Tara who says, James, I do believe you got this wrong
21:41
Meghan and Harry are going through a version of what Diana went through. I think Earl Spencer is right in what he said
21:47
Do we allow the public to kill Meghan in order to draw an exact comparison
21:51
You have to be conscious of your own words in all of this too. The fact that you said Harry and Meghan have asked for taxpayer security but not perform royal duties
21:59
Are they performing circus animals? Well, Tara, with respect, come on, you know what I meant by that
22:03
Carry out royal duties. You know, the everyday tasks, the opening of good causes, hospitals, whatever it may be
22:12
that is actually relatively unglamorous and doesn't get that much attention. But that's kind of the gig
22:17
You get to live in a palace. You get to be trotted out on the big stage occasions
22:21
Everyone knows your name. You get a title. you get sort of fawned over
22:27
but the gig is you have to do some public service. And if Meghan never wanted to do that, by the way
22:32
and just carry on being an actress, I'd have said good luck to her, more power to her, because she had a very successful career in her own right beforehand
22:40
But I do think they kind of want it all. They want the perks of royalty, but none of the downsides
22:47
And that's not what the deal is. 03456060973 is the number. have Harry and Meghan really been as badly treated as Princess Diana
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