Earl Charles Spencer has defended Prince Harry's decision to return to the UK, saying it is normal for an Englishman to want to live in England. The comments came during an interview in New York with royal biographer and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown on Tuesday, where Spencer discussed his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Brown questioned Spencer about why his nephew, Prince Harry, returned to live in the UK with his wife Meghan Markle and their children. The question followed Harry and Meghan's previous criticism of life in the UK and their apparent enjoyment of the Californian lifestyle they had adopted since stepping back from royal duties in 2020.
An Awkward Exchange
While Harry is close to his uncle, Spencer told Brown that they "didn't discuss" his move back to the UK before it happened. This led to an awkward moment in which Brown said that families must not talk to each other, and Spencer insisted they must.
Brown then said: "Well, it's amazing. I mean, you don't tell them that you're writing the book, and you didn't discuss the most incredible decision that is going to happen, and everybody's astounded by everybody else's behaviour."
Spencer's Defence of Harry
In defence of Harry, Spencer said: "But is it astounding that an Englishman wants to move back to England? I don't think so." He added: "I think what's interesting is, you forget, these are just regular people at heart, and this English guy's lived in California, he wants to live in England. Seems normal."
Spencer refused to discuss the situation further and said he would not have been any help to Harry with matters such as property hunting. He also confirmed that Harry and his family had stayed at Althorp with him over the summer, about a month before the duke decided to relocate back to the UK.
Book and Reactions
It is not known how much Spencer has seen of Harry since his move back to Britain, but he has said that Harry is "fine" with the book Spencer has published about the late Princess Diana. This is despite the book containing damaging accusations about King Charles, Harry's father, including claims that he acted like a "lottery winner" when Diana died in a 1997 car crash.
Buckingham Palace released a statement earlier this month defending the accusations made by Spencer about the monarch, saying that grief can "cloud memory".
