London: Earl Charles Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, has compared the media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan to the intense scrutiny his sister faced before her death, warning that important lessons must be learned from that period.
In an interview published on Sunday, Spencer said tabloid coverage of Diana and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be "really, really unpleasant".
“If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant,” he told the BBC.
“I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana's example.
“I'm not here to speak for Harry and Meghan, but for anyone who's being destroyed in this way daily, it must be such a cancerous influence in their life.”
Princess Diana died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris in 1997 as photographers pursued her vehicle on motorcycles. Her death prompted widespread public grief and renewed debate over the role of the media in covering the private lives of public figures.
Prince Harry and Meghan have previously spoken about the impact of what they described as a toxic media environment on their lives before stepping back from royal duties and relocating to the United States in 2020.
The couple also launched legal actions against several British tabloid newspapers before returning to Britain in August.
Spencer has attracted significant attention in recent days following the publication of excerpts from his book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, serialised in the Daily Mail. In the book, he accuses Diana's former husband, King Charles, of sounding “giddily elated” in the hours after her death.
Buckingham Palace responded by saying that the King “is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss”.
The publication of the book and the return of Harry and Meghan to Britain present fresh challenges for King Charles, who continues to undergo treatment for cancer.
Diana's family has long accused the royal household of failing to provide sufficient support to the princess before her death, allegations that have also been echoed by Prince Harry, whose relationship with much of the Royal Family remains strained.