Princess Diana's Brother Charles Spencer Makes Bold Comparison of Kate Middleton and Sister's Death

Princess Diana and Kate Middleton

Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, has made a bold comparison between the dangers that members of the royal family face today amid rampant conspiracy theories and those his sister faced before her death.

The 9th Earl Spencer addressed queries about the online “conspiracy world” during an interview with the BBC that aired on March 17,—one week to the day after a photo of the current Princess of Wales sparked a new wave of conspiracies about her whereabouts. He was asked about Kate Middleton in particular, and whether he thinks the “danger” is “more potent” now or back when Diana was battling it.

“I think it was more dangerous back in the day,” Spencer, 59, said, adding that the circumstances surrounding his sister’s death in 1997 “were so shocking that it did make the industry that supports the paparazzi really consider more carefully what it could and couldn’t do.” That wasn’t due to any “moral judgment,” he said, “but because it was unacceptable.”

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Diana died following a car crash after the vehicle she was in was chased by paparazzi through the streets of Paris. At her funeral, her younger brother famously spoke out against the paparazzi as he vowed to support her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

William’s wife now faces conspiracy theories of her own following Kensington Palace’s announcement in mid-January that she went through a “planned abdominal surgery.” She has been mostly absent ever since and is not expected to return to her public royal duties until after Easter.

Though the palace shared a photo of Middleton and her three children for Mother’s Day, which the U.K. celebrated on March 10, eagle-eyed royal watchers quickly noticed that the image appeared to have been manipulated. Several news agencies pulled the photo within hours.

While the palace later released a statement attributed to Middleton suggesting she was responsible for editing it, the incident now known as “#KateGate” still set off a new surge of theories about the Princess of Wales’ private life and her relationship with William.

Next: Princess Diana’s Brother Charles Spencer Shares Rare Photo From Their Childhood