Princess Diana's Family Shows Exactly Where They Stand in Royal Family Feud

Prince Harry’s surprise trip to the U.K. for the funeral of his late uncle Lord Robert Fellowes shocked the British press. The Duke of Sussex was able to stealthily slip into the country unnoticed until his appearance at the services on Aug. 29. The 40-year-old royal paid his respects to Princess Diana’s brother-in-law, and proved how important the Spencer family ties are to him. 

Fellowes was married to Diana’s sister Lady Jane, so it was obviously important for Harry to show his respects. Lady Jane and Diana’s brother Charles Spencer showed up for the Duke of Sussex big time when he celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in May. The Spencer family demonstrated their support while the royal family was absent from the event, instead celebrating a garden party down the road. Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole told the Daily Mail that the palace “divide was shown in its deepest and starkest form” that day. 

A second show of solidarity between Prince Harry and Charles Spencer came with an invitation to stay at Althorp House while he was visiting, according to People. The estate was his late mother’s childhood home, so it surely brought back warm memories for the Duke of Sussex. Harry no longer has a U.K. home after he and Meghan Markle were evicted from Frogmore Cottage in early 2023, so the embrace from the Spencers is notable — the lines are drawn in the sand in the family feud. 

The rivalry between the Spencers and the Windsors goes back to 1981 when Diana’s father, Johnnie Spencer, advised his daughter not to marry the then-Prince Charles. He believed — and was correct — that life at the palace would make her miserable. “Johnnie saw the Royal Family up close and personal. He was not in the least starry-eyed about the Windsors – now Mountbatten-Windsors – and wanted to safeguard his youngest daughter from the incessant public scrutiny that would be her fate as Princess of Wales,” Cole explained to the Daily Mail. 

Prince Harry was able to turn around his unhappy situation with the royal family by getting the exit that Princess Diana was not able to achieve. The Spencers are putting up a united front and letting King Charles III know that they are picking sides in the ongoing family feud.

Before you go, click here to see celebrities who had memorable encounters with Princess Diana.