16-05-2025
Charles Spencer Calls Princess Diana's Death an 'Amputation' in Heartbreaking Revelation
Charles Spencer opened up grieving his sister Princess Diana's death on a U.K. talk show during Mental Health Awareness Week
The 9th Earl Spencer said likened losing his sister to "an amputation"
Charles, 60, previously told PEOPLE that he never told Diana about the abuse he endured at boarding schoolCharles Spencer is opening up about the enduring pain of losing his sister, Princess Diana, nearly three decades after her death.
On May 15, the 9th Earl Spencer appeared on Loose Men — a special edition of the ITV talk show Loose Women in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week — where he joined a panel discussion on sibling grief. Now 60, Charles spoke candidly about the emotional toll of Diana's death and the deep bond they shared growing up.
"It's such an amputation. It's like the other guys were saying, you grow up with these people, they are your flesh and blood, they're with you forever, and then they're gone," Earl Spencer said.
The historian described the death of a sibling as "a really extraordinary thing" because of their unique role in one's life and how he continues to grieve Diana. Princess Diana died at age 36 following a car crash in Paris in August 1997, while being pursued by paparazzi.
Recalling the bond they shared, Charles said, "For years after Diana died, I would think, 'I must ring her and tell her something,' because we shared the same sense of humor and you just realize, of course, that's not going to happen."
The author of A Very Private School: A Memoir added that Diana's death meant that he lost a key part of his childhood, because she was with him for so many memories.
"As your family naturally folds in on itself — you lose your parents — I have two older sisters who I adore, they're quite a lot older than me, so I don't share my childhood with anyone anymore, and that's a great loss you can never really put right," Charles said about his own family dynamic.
John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd had four children — Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Jane Fellowes, Princess Diana and Charles Spencer — spanning a nine-year age gap between the eldest, Sarah, and the youngest, Charles.
Loose Men panelist Craig Doyle then said that the late Princess of Wales was "judged so publicly in her short but wonderful life" and asked Charles how he dealt with wanting to protect her. Diana became a household name when she married the future King Charles in 1981 when she was 20 and openly spoke about the intense pressures that came with it.
Her younger brother noted that he was a teenager when she stepped into the public light and felt compelled to personally address "the photographers who were plaguing her."
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"I remember just before she died, a female journalist wrote a really horrendous article, because by that stage I don't think that journalist was thinking of Diana as a person, she was something to make money out of or whatever," Charles revealed. "I wrote to her an outraged letter and had a bit of to and fro with her. I think particularly as a brother of a sister, you always want to get stuck in, really."
Charles became the 9th Earl Spencer when his father died in 1992 and famously delivered a fiery eulogy at Diana's funeral in 1997.
There, he denounced the media's mistreatment of her and pledged that "we, your blood family" would work to ensure that her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, would be raised so that their souls "can sing openly as you planned."
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2024 about his memoir A Very Private School, the Earl Spencer revealed that he never spoke to Diana about his harrowing experience at Maidwell Hall, an elite all boys' boarding school where he endured abuse.
Read the original article on People
