Charles Spencer has ended his silence on speculations regarding the Princess of Wales’s health.
BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg conducted an interview with Charles for “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” during the week, where she inquired if the internet conspiracy theories surrounding Kate’s abdominal surgery were “more perilous” than the media intrusion experienced by his sister, Princess Diana, in the nineties.
In response, the Earl said: ” No, I think it was more dangerous back in the day. I think, if I look back to ’97 and Diana’s death, I think that was so shocking too – the circumstances of her death were so shocking, that it did make the industry that supports the paparazzi really consider more carefully what it could and couldn’t do. Not because they had a moral judgement, but because it was unacceptable to the public.”
When asked specifically about the conspiracy theories around Kate, he admitted: “I do worry about what happened to the truth.”
The Earl was speaking to Laura following the release of his memoir, A Very Private School, on Thursday. In the book, Charles disclosed that he was sexually abused at the age of 11 by a female staff member when he was at boarding school.
He wrote: “There seemed to be an unofficial hierarchy among her prey… she chose one boy each term to share her bed and would use him for intercourse. Her control over mesmerised boys was total, for we were starved of feminine warmth and desperate for attention and affection.”
In another extract from the book, Charles also revealed he was beaten with the spikes of a cricket boot by the school’s Latin master and described reliving his experiences at the school as “an absolutely hellish experience”.
In the meantime, the Princess of Wales has largely remained out of public view as she continues her recovery from abdominal surgery performed in early January. Speculation has surged during her absence, particularly after the royal shared an edited image on Mother’s Day.
Amidst the controversy, Kate was spotted in a car with her husband, Prince William, as he made his way to a Commonwealth Day service, while she attended a private engagement. The Princess was observed in the back seat alongside William as they traveled from Adelaide Cottage to London.
A statement from Kensington Palace released at the time of Kate’s surgery confirmed that the mother-of-three was “unlikely to return to public duties [until] after Easter.
The Palace re-emphasised this following speculation about the royal’s health as they released a statement that read: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
