Princess Catherine has shown Earl Spencer that subtlety can send just as powerful a message as the royal row over the controversial new Diana memoir continues. She has also shown the Earl who must be remembered in the unseemly, one-sided 'war of words' between Diana's brother and King Charles.
Earl Spencer's claims spark palace response
Spencer ignited fire under Buckingham Palace when claiming the then Prince Charles told him privately after Diana's 1997 death that "we’ll forget her soon enough". Then he claimed to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that Charles was almost "giddy" ringing him at his home in Cape Town, to inform Spencer how he had broken the tragic news to Princes William and Harry.
It prompted the palace to break their own 'never complain, never explain' motto regarding royal books, as they issued a statement saying "fraternal grief can cloud reason" and "affect judgement". Spencer hit back again accusing the palace of "gaslighting" him.
Diana's butler weighs in
Then Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell said Charles was "a broken man" when he learned Diana had died. Burrell said: "I was in Paris. I saw the King. He was a broken man. Clearly, he'd been crying, his eyes were bloodshot... I'd never seen him like that, ever."
It's become a mess and sources claim Prince William - who knew nothing about the book before it was published - is furious at the Earl for attacking his father using his mother's memory. Some feared the row could split loyalties among the Royal Family.
Kate's tribute at film premiere
But this week Princess Kate showed everyone where her sympathies lie - her husband and tragic Diana herself. On Tuesday at the Leicester Square London premiere of Tom Cruise's new Hollywood blockbuster Digger, she was seen in a purple floor-sweeping Jenny Packham dress accessorised with Diana, Princess of Wales’s earrings and the Queen Mother’s amethyst sautoir necklace.
Diana died just weeks after her 36th birthday in 1997 due to injuries sustained from a car crash in Paris. At the time of her death, William was aged just 15, whilst his younger brother, Prince Harry, was just 12. Paying tribute to her late mother-in-law Diana was a generous masterstroke by Kate, further highlighting her empathy. To my mind, the 44-year-old was telling the Earl that the victims here are Diana and her two sons who have been scarred by her untimely death.
