Earl Spencer has recalled an extraordinary exchange in which the then Prince Charles allegedly complained that his parents treated him like a child, while telling Diana’s brother he was “so lucky” to have inherited his family estate in his twenties.
The conversation is described in Charles Spencer’s forthcoming memoir and is said to have taken place after the funeral of his father, John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer, in April 1992.
Charles Spencer, then 27, had inherited the 13,000-acre Althorp estate in Northamptonshire and become the 9th Earl Spencer. He says he later gathered at the family home with Prince Charles and Princess Diana in an “awkward” meeting in the oak-panelled tapestry sitting room.
Recalling the funeral, Earl Spencer writes that he told the couple he had been moved to see his father’s coffin carried into the church by six of his longest-serving male staff, and had begun to cry.
He says Prince Charles then responded: “You’re so lucky!”
When Earl Spencer said he was unsure he had heard correctly, the prince allegedly elaborated: “You’re just so lucky – you know, inheriting when you’re so young!”
According to the memoir, Prince Charles continued: “You’re inheriting this place in your twenties. And, I mean, I’m 43…and I employ 50 people… but my parents insist on treating me like – like a child!”
Earl Spencer says the prince stamped his foot for emphasis during the exchange, describing the gesture as “very much like a child; and a petulant one, at that”.
The conversation took place more than 30 years ago, following the death of John Spencer and Charles Spencer’s succession to the family title and estate.
