It’s been 28 years since Princess Diana passed away in August 1997, but for her brother, Charles Spencer, the emotions surrounding it are still incredibly raw. During a recent interview with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth for his Rosebud podcast, the 9th Earl Spencer opened up about his sister’s untimely death—but also the unintentionally irksome thing Diana fans can’t help but approach him about.
Charles Spencer Reveals the Worst Thing Princess Diana Fans Say to Him
It’s been 28 years, but oof
Published Nov 29, 2025
•3:00pm
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“I try and be really busy on the 31st of August because it’s just terribly sad, really,” Spencer revealed on the show. “I tell you what I do find quite difficult, and this probably sounds ungracious, but occasionally, total strangers come up and feel they must tell me where they were when they heard that she died.”
He continues: “I’m sure that’s helpful to them. It’s not entirely helpful to everyone else.” He goes on to reference one particular woman from South Dakota, who “clutched [Spencer] to her ample bosom” before telling him that he “may have thought [he] grew up with Diana, but actually she did in South Dakota.” Oof.
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Spencer’s kind response in the moment? He tells Brandreth, “So you just have to smile. It doesn’t matter.” If nothing else, Spencer shares, it reveals the monumental impact Diana had on tens of millions of people’s lives. “I think particularly to women of a similar age, they really invested their lives in hers.”
Still—intentional or not—there’s probably a better way to communicate what the late Princess of Wales meant to you than unloading your grief on one of the people who would have been most affected by her death.
