Earl Spencer revealed his position during an interview with the BBC.
Earl Spencer has commented on Prince Harry’s security row (Image: BBC)
Earl Spencer has weighed in on Prince Harry’s security row with the Home Office during an explosive interview with the BBC. The Earl said he sided with his nephew, after telling Laura Kuenssberg that he felt writing his new book, a controversial memoir about Princess Diana’s life and death, was his “duty”.
While Earl Spencer was reluctant to discuss Prince Harry’s treatment by the Royal Family, he admitted that he would “veer towards protection,” when it came to their security. “I would say that I personally worry about the fifth-in-line to the throne who’s served in the military not having any police protection,” he said. “As an uncle who’s seen his sister die in very, very preventable circumstances, that I would veer towards protection.”
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Earl Spencer has written a controversial memoir about Princess Diana’s life and death (Image: Getty)
The Duke of Sussex was stripped of his automatic high-level security protections when he left the UK and stepped down from royal duties in 2020.
The committee that oversees royal and VIP security, known as RAVEC, deemed that his formerly automatic protections would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, as and when Harry would visit the UK.
However, the Prince entered a bitter legal battle to reinstate them, ultimately resulting in a loss last May, which he described as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up”.
It has been reported that RAVEC will reconsider Prince Harry and Meghan’s level of police protection now they are once agan full-time residents in the UK, along with their two children.
The Earl also commented on Prince Harry’s relationship with his brother, and that he hoped the two could resolve any differences.
“I hope one day it’s resolved, but I don’t know all – I certainly don’t know what’s been done in the finer detail and so I would feel intrusive if I got more involved than to say of course a mother would want her two sons to be happy together and love each other,” he said.
Earl Spencer hopes the brothers can resolve any differences (Image: Getty)
Charles Spencer hit the headlines this week after snippets of his book — which were highly critical of King Charles — were published ahead of its release date, this Tuesday.
He claimed that the King was “giddily elated” after Princess Diana passed away in 1997, following a tragic car crash in Paris, and that he said everyone would forget her soon enough.
However, in an unprecedented move, the stoic palace issued an official statement, that the “fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.
UK EU Rejoin Support Hits Record 61% as Sir John Curtice Warns Labour.TA
UK Support for Rejoining EU Reaches Record 61%, Polling Expert Sir John Curtice Warns Labour
Support for Britain rejoining the European Union has reached its highest sustained level since the 2016 Brexit referendum, but political experts caution that a future campaign would face sharp electoral hurdles.
Polling data compiled by veteran analyst Sir John Curtice shows that an average of recent surveys puts the rejoin side at 61 per cent among decided voters.
The remaining 39 per cent favor staying outside the bloc, giving the pro-rejoin movement a commanding 22-point advantage.
The figures mark a striking reversal from the original 52-48 vote that initiated Britain’s departure nearly a decade ago.
Yet, as public sentiment shifts, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government faces mounting pressure over how to handle its growing European ambitions without igniting old political divisions.
The Demographic Shift Driving the Rejoin Lead
The widening gap in polling is largely the result of generational change rather than mass conversions among original voters.
Data indicates that roughly 18 per cent of those who backed Leave in 2016 now support rejoining, while about 11 per cent of former Remain voters have moved in the opposite direction.
Instead, the electorate itself has transformed.
A decade of younger citizens reaching voting age has introduced a demographic that overwhelmingly favors EU membership.
Simultaneously, older generations, who formed the bedrock of the Leave vote, have seen natural attrition.
Non-voters from the original referendum who have since engaged with the political process also lean heavily toward rejoining, altering the baseline of the British electorate.
Why the 61% Lead Might Be Vulnerable
Despite the substantial polling lead, Curtice warns that headline figures would likely narrow once a real electoral campaign began.
A future referendum would not simply replicate the binary choice of 2016.
Britain previously held specific exemptions, including staying out of the euro and the Schengen travel area.
Re-entering the bloc would require fresh negotiations with Brussels, and terms could differ significantly from past arrangements.
Opponents would likely center their campaigns on thorny issues such as financial contributions, freedom of movement, and adoption of the single currency.
While current respondents express support for rejoining in principle, a formal negotiation process would introduce complex economic and sovereignty questions that have yet to be tested under campaign scrutiny.
Public Perception of Brexit’s Economic Impact
The growing appetite for closer European ties coincides with increasingly negative assessments of Brexit’s practical consequences.
Research from the National Centre for Social Research indicates that 69 per cent of the public believes Britain’s economy is worse off as a result of leaving the EU.
Only 9 per cent think the economy has benefited.
Even among original Leave voters, 38 per cent now agree that the economic outcome has been negative, a stark contrast to pre-referendum expectations.
Public anxiety has also shifted regarding immigration, with 54 per cent saying Brexit increased overall immigration levels rather than reducing them.
However, analysts note that economic dissatisfaction remains a far stronger driver of changing voting intentions than immigration concerns, while national sovereignty remains a powerful motivator for remaining outside the bloc.
Labour’s Balancing Act on the European Reset
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pursued a strategy of closer cooperation with Brussels while explicitly ruling out a return to the EU, the single market, or the customs union.
His government has focused on practical adjustments, such as reducing trade barriers for food and drink exports and negotiating youth mobility frameworks.
Curtice argues that this cautious approach leaves the administration politically vulnerable.
He warned that without active leadership defending these changes, figures like Nigel Reform leader and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will successfully frame any closer ties as an attempt to undermine the 2016 result.
Balancing public demand for stronger European cooperation with the risk of reviving bitter partisan battles remains one of Labour’s most delicate policy challenges.
What Happens Next
As polling consistently shows a strong majority favoring rejoining, the political debate is unlikely to fade.
While Labour maintains its opposition to reopening membership negotiations, shifting demographics and deteriorating economic perceptions of Brexit continue to keep the question alive in Westminster.
Whether the government can successfully navigate its practical reset without triggering a broader constitutional confrontation will depend heavily on how public opinion evolves as economic pressures persist.
How do you think the British government should balance the growing public support for closer European ties with the commitments made after the 2016 referendum?
UK EU Rejoin Support Hits Record 61% as Sir John Curtice Warns Labour
A decade after Britain’s historic Brexit referendum, support for rejoining the European Union has reached its highest sustained level since the 2016 vote, according to polling analysis by Professor Sir John Curtice.
The latest figures suggest that 61 per cent of people choosing between the two options would now vote for Britain to rejoin the EU, compared with 39 per cent who would choose to remain outside the bloc. Curtice has described the figure as the highest average level of support for rejoining recorded over an extended period since the original referendum.
The figures have immediately reignited the debate over Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe.
They also present a difficult political question for Labour.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government has pursued a closer relationship with the European Union while stopping short of advocating full membership. The strategy is based on improving the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with Brussels without formally reversing Brexit.
Curtice’s warning is that Labour may eventually have to do more than quietly negotiate practical improvements.
If public attitudes are changing, he argues, political parties could influence that shift further by openly making the case for their preferred approach.
But he has also cautioned against assuming that today’s polling would automatically translate into victory in another referendum.
A Remarkable Shift in Public Opinion
The latest 61 per cent figure is striking because the question of EU membership remains deeply connected to Britain’s political history.
In the 2016 referendum, 51.9 per cent of voters chose Leave while 48.1 per cent voted Remain.
Since then, the political environment has changed significantly.
A large group of younger voters who were too young to participate in the 2016 referendum has entered the electorate.
Curtice has pointed to demographic change as one of the major reasons for the movement in public opinion. He noted that younger voters are heavily inclined towards rejoining, while some older voters who were more likely to have supported Leave have died since the original referendum.
This does not mean that most original Leave voters have changed their minds.
According to Curtice’s analysis, only around 18 per cent of people who voted Leave in 2016 now say they would vote to rejoin.
Similarly, around 11 per cent of former Remain voters now say they would choose to stay outside the EU.
The changing balance therefore appears to be influenced substantially by generational replacement and differences between age groups.
The Ipsos Evidence
Other polling provides evidence of a similar shift, although the exact numbers vary according to the wording of the question.
Ipsos research published in June 2026 found that 52 per cent of Britons thought the UK should apply to rejoin the European Union, compared with 33 per cent who believed Britain should remain outside.
Among likely voters in a hypothetical future referendum, 58 per cent said they would vote to rejoin and 37 per cent would vote to stay out. Once undecided respondents were removed, that produced the same 61 per cent to 39 per cent division.
The Ipsos research also showed that attitudes remain strongly divided along political and demographic lines.
Among current Labour voters, 84 per cent supported applying to rejoin.
By contrast, 71 per cent of Reform UK voters said they would vote to stay outside the EU.
Age was another significant dividing line: 68 per cent of 18-to-34-year-olds supported rejoining, while half of those aged 55 and over preferred remaining outside.
These differences demonstrate why the headline 61 per cent figure needs careful interpretation.
It indicates a substantial change in public opinion, but it does not mean Britain has reached a settled national consensus.
Curtice’s Warning to Labour
For Labour, the political significance of the figures lies in what happens next.
Curtice has argued that the public has shifted towards rejoining despite political parties largely avoiding the issue.
For much of the period since Brexit, Labour’s leadership has been reluctant to reopen the fundamental question of EU membership.
Instead, the party has concentrated on improving Britain’s relationship with the EU.
That has included seeking closer cooperation in areas such as trade, food exports and youth mobility.
Curtice’s argument is that political silence itself may have contributed to the situation.
If voters have received relatively little sustained campaigning for rejoining, he suggests that there may still be considerable scope for political arguments to influence opinion.
This creates an unusual situation.
A significant section of the electorate may now favour rejoining, yet the largest governing party is not advocating it.