Prince Harry’s forgotten family who hosted secret UK trip and publicly stood by him
It has emerged that Prince Harry was hosted by his late mother Princess Diana's Spencer relatives on his recent under-the-radar trip to the UK for a poignant family event - and it appears despite leaving the UK, he has remained close to them
Since dramatically quitting his royal role and leaving the UK, Prince Harry has maintained a seemingly frosty relationship with his royal relatives.
But when it comes to his mother Princess Diana’s side of the family, it appears to be an altogether different story. It has been revealed that last week, Harry made an under-the-radar trip to Britain, where he reportedly spent time with his Spencer aunts, uncles and cousins as they paid their last respects to the late Lord Robert Fellowes, who died in July aged 82.
Both Harry and estranged brother Prince William attended a memorial service for their uncle Lord Fellowes, who was the late husband of their aunt Lady Jane Fellowes, an older sister of Diana. It was the first time in over a year that the two brothers attended the same event – although onlookers and others at the memorial said they kept their distance and didn’t speak to each other.
Now it has been reported that during his UK visit, Harry stayed with his uncle Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, at Althorp, the Spencer family’s ancestral home. The Spencers are said to have remained close to Harry, taking part in several very public shows of support for him, and here we take a look at who they are…
The current head of the Spencer family and holding the title of Earl Spencer is Diana’s younger brother Charles. He is the custodian of the family’s Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, where he is said to have hosted his nephew Harry during his time in the UK last week.
Father-of-seven Charles, who recently split from his third wife Karen, counts the late Queen as one of his godparents. He is believed to have been extremely close to Diana – delivering a blistering yet moving eulogy at her funeral in Westminster Abbey in 1997, where he publicly pledged to protect William and Harry.
He said at the time: “We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair. ‘We, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.”
“We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role but we, like you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us.”
