Princess Diana's family takes clear side in royal feud as Prince Harry attends Spencer family funeral
LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry's unexpected visit to the United Kingdom for his late uncle Lord Robert Fellowes' funeral has surprised many.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, demonstrated his importance to the Spencer family by paying his respects to Princess Diana's brother-in-law by showing up for the services on August 29.
The Spencers on their part have been presenting a unified front and notifying King Charles III of their decision to take sides in Harry and Meghan Markle's feud with the royal family.
Prince Harry stayed at Princess Diana's childhood home at Althorp
According to People, Prince Harry extended an invitation to stay at Althorp House to Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, as a sign of support during his recent trip to the United Kingdom.
Given that Robert Fellowes was the spouse of Diana's sister Lady Jane, Harry felt compelled to pay his respects, and he paid a moving visit to the ancestral home of his late mother.
The Duke of Sussex stayed at Althorp House with his uncle Charles Spencer. The estate holds special memories for the Duke of Sussex as it was the childhood home of late Princess Diana.
The embrace from the Spencers is noteworthy since Harry and Meghan Markle were expelled from Frogmore Cottage in early 2023, marking the end of their family dispute and their possession of a UK house.
Fellowes was honored at the ceremony, which was also attended by Diana's other sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and Prince William, 42.
The event took place two days before August 31, which would have been Diana's 27th death anniversary. Diana, who was 36 years old when she tragically died in a car crash in Paris, was buried on the island in the center of Round Oval Lake at Althorp.
According to a member of the congregation, Harry and his estranged brother William both attended the Lord Fellowes service at St Mary's Church in Snettisham, Norfolk, but sat apart with different groups of relatives.
Royal feud became evident following Earl Spencer's attendance at Prince Harry's Invictus service
In May, Prince Harry and Charles Spencer expressed their support for one other once more when Diana's brother commemorated the Invictus Games' 10th anniversary.
The royal family did not attend the ceremony — choosing to revel at a garden party across the street — but the Spencer family showed their support nonetheless.
Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole revealed to Daily Mail that the palace "divide was shown in its deepest and starkest form" that day.
Harry embraced his aunt Lady Jane Fellowes and uncle Earl Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral, prior to the competition to commemorate its tenth anniversary.
Former army officer Mark Dyer, who served as the Duke of Sussex's mentor following his mother's death in Paris in 1997, also accompanied Diana's siblings.
Cole noted that "the entire Royal Family stayed away," but Harry's "birth family," led by Earl and Lady Jane Fellowes, traveled to St Paul's to support the Duke.
The Spencer and Windsor families' rivalry began when Diana's father, Johnnie Spencer, counseled his daughter against marrying Prince Charles in 1981. He thought that living at the palace would bring her misery.
Cole said, "Johnnie saw the Royal Family up close and personal. He was not in the least starry-eyed about the Windsors - now Mountbatten-Windsors - and wanted to safeguard his youngest daughter from the incessant public scrutiny that would be her fate as Princess of Wales."
However, according to Cole, the Spencers "never went weak at the knees at the sight of a royal personage."
He recounted how Diana, who had experienced a "severe case of cold feet before her wedding," would often reassure Prince Charles about the superiority of her royal heritage over his own.
Unfortunately, Princess Diana was not able to leave the royal family but Harry was able to change his unpleasant circumstances with them.
