Emily Wright argues that Prince Harry’s quiet alliance with one relative exposes a fatal flaw in the Sussex strategy.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties and retreated across the Atlantic, and then back again, they claimed they were breaking free from the leaks, the feuds and the endless commercialisation of royal life. Yet, in their quest for support, the Sussexes gravitated straight towards Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer – quietly hosting him, staying at Althorp and positioning him as a key ally.
If Earl Spencer’s latest explosive memoir claims prove anything, it is that Harry and Meghan have hitched their wagon to the entirely wrong horse. Reports suggest Harry was aware of the sensational allegations in Earl Spencer’s book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, where the Earl accuses King Charles of making a callous post-mortem remark about Diana, after spending time with his uncle at Althorp. But rather than offering a path toward healing or quiet dignity, aligning with Earl Spencer drags the Duke and Duchess straight back into the 1990s mudslinging they claimed to hate.
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Prince Harry’s quiet alliance with Earl Spencer exposes a fatal flaw in the Sussex strategy (Image: Getty)
Richard Fitzwilliams is ‘convinced’ Earl Spencer timed the launch of the biography with the Sussexes’ UK return (Image: Getty)
I spoke to top royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams on Wednesday (September 17), and he pointed directly to the calculating timing behind the launch. “I am convinced Spencer arranged the launch of the biography to coincide with the Sussexes’ surprise move to the UK,” he told me.
By surrounding themselves with family figures who weaponise past grievances for book sales, Harry and Meghan aren’t escaping the royal circus. They are feeding it.
The Sussexes have consistently argued that their public disclosures – from the Oprah interview to Spare – were about “setting the record straight” and finding peace. But tying their sail to an uncle whose entire public identity is built on keeping a 30-year-old war with the Crown alive completely undermines that narrative.
King Charles’ sharp put-down directed at Spencer carries a silent warning for Harry, too (Image: Getty)
While Prince William has built a firm, forward-looking path alongside the King – focusing on public service and preserving his mother’s legacy with dignity – Harry appears caught in an echo chamber of historical bitterness. Aligning with Earl Spencer does nothing to build Harry’s standing in Britain or repair his fractured bond with his father. It simply reinforces the perception that the couple cannot let go of the past.
The Palace’s sharp put-down that “fraternal grief can cloud reason” was directed at Earl Spencer, but it carries a silent warning for Prince Harry, too.
If Harry and Meghan genuinely want to build a new life, clinging to old family feuds isn’t the answer. Teaming up with allies who profit off royal drama won’t buy them freedom – it will only guarantee they stay permanently on the outside looking in.
Politics LIVE: Nigel Farage to make huge announcement after massive Reform UK blow.TA
Nigel Farage will today announce a new leader for Reform in Wales following the arrest of former leader Dan Thomas.
Reform made a spectacular breakthrough in May’s elections, going from having no seats at all in the Welsh Senned to becoming the second largest party.
But the party suffered a setback when Dan Thomas quit as the party’s Welsh leader, after he was arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. He said he had been “released without charge”.
Gwent Police confirmed that a 45-year-old man from Aberbargoed, in Caerphilly, has been bailed pending further enquiries.
Latest UK-wide polling from Ipsos found 27% say they will vote Labour at the next General Election, 23% say Reform. 21% say the Conservatives, 13% say the Greens and 8% say the Lib Dems.
Follow our live coverage below:
Analysis: Burnham v Trump in New York – this is what could go wrong
Andy Burnham faces his first major international test as Prime Minister when he meets Donald Trump in New York.
The PM is travelling to the Big Apple for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
The King of the North is due to hold face-to-face talks with the US President with the Middle East crisis and Ukraine high on the agenda.
But there are other thorny issues, namely the Falklands and Chagos Islands, as well as North Sea drilling and Israel that threaten to make the meeting less comfortable than the Labour leader hoped.
Jenrick blasts Badenoch over new pledge
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick took to X to hit out at Kemi Badenoch over her pledge to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists.
He said: “Kemi Badenoch claims she’ll bring back tax-free shopping for visitors. But it was Kemi who abolished it in the first place!
“Will she now apologise for personally instigating this? Does she have any humility?”
Davey slammed by Lib Dem council leader
Sir Ed Davey said you “can’t please everyone all the time” after a Liberal Democrat council leader suggested the party could be “sleepwalking into irrelevance”.
The Lib Dem leader told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve grown really fast in recent years under my leadership. Record number of MPs. We’re running more councils than the Conservatives – councils up and down the country.
“Really proud of that record and it means when you have a bigger party, you can’t please everyone all the time.”
He said his party has a “historic opportunity” to win many more seats because of the “right-wing split between the Conservatives and Reform who are fighting each other”.
He added: “But, also, we have a moral responsibility to win more seats. I think it’s vital we stop Nigel Farage getting into No 10 and Kemi Badenoch giving him the keys to get into No 10.”
Labour accuse Tories of U-turn
Labour accused the Tories of a “spectacular U-turn” over their promise to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists as Kemi Badenoch was a Treasury minister at the time of its abolition.
A party spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch used to say tax-free shopping was a costly giveaway and now she’s trying to sell it as an economic miracle.
“If they really think it’s such a great idea, they should explain why they scrapped it in the first place and how they’d pay for bringing it back.”
Badenoch promises to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists
Kemi Badenoch has pledged to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists by reversing a post-Brexit rule change.
The decision to scrap the VAT refund scheme for international visitors in 2021 left the UK “less competitive” than many other European destinations as the country left the EU, the Tories said.
The Opposition leader said: “Britain should be the place where the whole world comes to shop.
“We have iconic retailers, inventive designers and brilliant manufacturers, but they are being let down by a tax policy that is chasing their customers away. Holidaymakers are choosing rival cities in other countries for the simple reason that it saves them money.
“British retailers are closing down shops with the knock-on effects damaging small manufacturers, suppliers and jobs across the UK. I want them to know I’m on their side and Conservatives will sort out taxes so companies can create jobs and grow our economy.”
Labour looking at capital gains tax hike
Labour is reportedly considering calls to cut income tax for lower earners by raising capital gains tax (CGT).
Andy Burnham and John Healey are looking at proposals to pay for an increase in the personal allowance by gradually bringing CGT in line with income tax, The Telegraph reported.
The idea was included in a submission to the Treasury by Labour donor and Ecotricity owner Dale Vince, who suggested funding a rise in the threshold by both hiking CGT and ending interest payments on Bank of England reserves.
These two measures combined could raise the money to increase the personal allowance to £15,570, which is just below what it would have been had it not been frozen in 2021, it has been claimed.
