Charles Spencer Reveals Why It’s ‘Tough’ for Women Who Marry Into the Royal Family

Princess Diana’s brother shared his candid take on marrying into the monarchy during a conversation with Tina Brown in N.Y.C.

NEED TO KNOW

• Charles Spencer said it’s “tough” for women who marry into the royal family, adding that it’s “a lot easier” for those who grow up within the monarchy
• Princess Diana’s brother made the remarks during an on-stage conversation with royal biographer and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown in New York City
• Brown has been an outspoken critic of Meghan Markle, though neither Meghan nor Kate Middleton was mentioned by name during the exchange

Charles Spencer is opening up about how difficult it can be to marry into the royal family.

Princess Diana’s younger brother reflected on the pressures faced by royal spouses during an on-stage conversation with royal biographer and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown about his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, at St. Peter’s Chelsea in New York City on Sept. 29.

The observation carried an added resonance given Brown’s outspoken criticism of Meghan Markle, who married Spencer’s nephew Prince Harry in 2018. Although neither Meghan nor Kate Middleton, the wife of Spencer’s other nephew, Prince William, was mentioned by name during the exchange, Spencer argued that navigating life within the monarchy can be particularly difficult for those who weren’t raised in it.

“Do you think that it is actually impossible to be a human being of today’s modern era inside the cage of the monarchy?” Brown asked while discussing the pressures Diana faced after marrying then-Prince Charles in 1981.

“Well, there are people who endure it,” the 9th Earl Spencer replied. “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,” he continued. “It’s a way of thinking that is very specific.”

Brown, who has written extensively about the British royal family, has been an outspoken critic of the Duchess of Sussex. During an appearance on The Ankler podcast with Janice Min, Brown said Meghan “has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world,” adding, “She’s flawless about getting it all wrong. She really is.”

More recently, amid speculation that Meghan was being cast in Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Brown reported in her Substack that an offer to the Duchess of Sussex had been “withdrawn” amid “backlash.” PEOPLE understands that Meghan is in talks for a role on the series, though a deal has yet to be reached.

Spencer, meanwhile, has recently drawn a parallel between the scrutiny faced by Meghan and Harry and that endured by his sister. While promoting Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, he told BBC News that the media attention surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “echoes” Diana’s experience.

“If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you’re mentioning, Harry and Meghan, they can be really, really unpleasant,” Spencer said. “I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example.”

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE earlier this month, the 9th Earl Spencer said of his new memoir, “This book, in my view, is something [Diana] would like. She always loved it when I paid compliments, and this is 350 pages of compliments.”

He added, “I think this does give me the opportunity to lay certain myths to rest.”

After the Daily Mail published the first preview of the book — which recounted a phone call between Spencer and then-Prince Charles ahead of Diana’s funeral, in which Spencer claimed the royal said, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough” — a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.”

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Spencer has since defended his recollections and did so again in his chat with Brown.

“I’ve only had two phone calls from the then-Prince of Wales. I can remember them very well,” he said. “I’m sure he can remember being hung up on because it probably doesn’t happen very often.”

Of the King’s statement through the palace, Spencer said, “He had the opportunity to not say anything or to deny it, and he did neither. He didn’t say that he didn’t say it.”

“He didn’t say that he didn’t say it,” Brown agreed. “He attributed it to your fraternal grief.”

“Well, that’s called gaslighting,” Spencer replied, drawing applause from the audience.

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