Charles Spencer claims that Prince Harry didn’t discuss the Sussexes’ UK move with him

Last night, in New York, Charles Spencer had an interesting piece of book promotion. His memoir, Swan Song, came out last week, and Spencer has been in New York this week, giving interviews and making TV appearances. Well, last night was a public “conversation” with Tina Brown. The same Tina Brown who has been highly critical of Charles Spencer, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Princess Diana. The same Tina Brown who has carried a lot of water for the Windsors in recent years. I mean, I get it – Charles Spencer isn’t afraid of her and he’s perfectly capable of clapping back on her nonsense in real time. But yikes, this was a choice. Here’s one part of their conversation, in which Brown pushes Spencer on why Prince Harry returned to the UK with his wife and children:

One of the evening’s liveliest exchanges came when Brown, an outspoken critic of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, pressed Spencer about Harry’s decision to move his family back to Britain. The conversation began when Brown asked Spencer whether he felt he had fulfilled the pledge he made in his eulogy for Diana to help look out for William and Harry. Spencer said that today, he sees himself as “just an elderly uncle who’s there if needed.”

“I mean, it’s a matter of public record, and I wouldn’t have shared this, but, you know, it’s a matter of public record that Harry and his family came to stay with Cat and me this summer,” he said, referring to his wife, Cat Spencer. “If I’m of any use for things like that, that’s fine.”

Brown then asked whether he had encouraged Harry to move back to Britain. “Didn’t discuss it, actually,” Spencer replied.

“Well, I mean, these families, they don’t talk to one another, do they?” Brown said, drawing laughs from the audience. “Well, they do,” Spencer countered.

“Well, it’s amazing,” Brown continued. “I mean, you don’t tell them that you’re writing the book, and you didn’t discuss the most incredible decision that is going to happen, and everybody’s astounded by everybody else’s behavior.”

“But is it astounding that an Englishman wants to move back to England?” Spencer replied. “I don’t think so.”

Brown disagreed, pointing to Harry’s turbulent history with the British press and his decision to leave the U.K. six years earlier. “Seems very normal to me,” Spencer said. Brown suggested that Spencer’s own experiences with the press might have made him a useful “touchstone” for his nephew as he contemplated the move.

“Yeah, I never intrude,” Spencer replied. “I’m just a guy who’s 20 years older…. There are things that he might talk about where I am totally happy to help, but I… I wouldn’t intrude on any of…” he continued. “Yeah, it’s up to somebody to share that stuff with me if they want to. I’m not sure how useful I’d have been about a property search or something.”

Spencer then offered his own straightforward explanation for Harry’s homecoming. “I think what’s interesting is, you forget, these are just regular people at heart, and this English guy’s lived in California, he wants to live in England,” he said. “Seems normal.”

“Okay, well, it’s one way of reading it,” Brown replied.

Earlier in the conversation, Spencer also made a distinction between the brothers when Brown asked whether they had ever spoken to him about his famous eulogy. “Well, I know Harry’s been very supportive of it, and, I don’t remember any comments from William,” he said.

[From People]

I would be shocked if Spencer was telling the truth here – what do you mean Harry didn’t discuss the then-potential move with his uncle back in July?? That’s insane. It kind of goes to the theory I’ve built over the past month, which is that Harry and Meghan were going back and forth about whether to make the move, and Harry made the decision during that July visit, especially after his father finally agreed to meet with Harry, Meghan and the children. It was the first time King Charles had seen Meghan and the kids in four years. I think that was the moment when Harry decided to go all-in on the UK move. It would make sense, especially given that the Sussexes’ private security didn’t get the chance to test out the school run routes and traffic during the school year.

TIna Brown also asked Spencer, “Do you think that it is actually impossible to be a human being of today’s modern era inside the cage of the monarchy?” Spencer’s answer: “Well, there are people who endure it. I think there are certain people who find it very difficult to be inside of it. I think if you grow up in a royal family, it’s a lot easier than marrying into it. If you look at the wives of those who’ve married in, it’s tough. It’s a way of thinking that is very specific.” Looking at both Meghan and Kate Middleton’s (very different) situations of marrying into that horrid family, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to really survive is to be completely devoid of personality and ego, to be an empty vessel managed at every step by the monarchy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.