The “thoughtful” tributes paid to Diana, Princess of Wales, at the recent royal wedding allowed her to “be there in spirit” as her son got married, said her younger brother Earl Charles Spencer.
There were honours paid to Prince Harry’s mother in the flowers, hymns and reading at his May 19 marriage to Meghan Markle and that all meant a great deal to his family, he said.
“William and Harry had an incredible connection with their mother. She was alive long enough for them to really form an endless bond, I guess. And so, it wasn’t a surprise, but it was still beautiful because Diana meant so much to both of them. And I thought it was very lovely how thoughtful it was,” Spencer told CTV’s Your Morning in a Canadian TV exclusive that aired on Thursday.
The ceremony’s tributes were “paying back a mother’s love and saying how much she is missed,” said Spencer, who lives at Althorp Estate, a 90-room, 5,665-hectare property in Northhamptonshire, England. His seven children are the 19th generation of his family to live on the 500-year-old estate.
“And that’s the great tragedy for my family, and for a lot of people of course, that she obviously wasn’t there. So it was nice to have her there in spirit,” said Spencer, who was in Toronto to unveil a new furniture line based on the antiques on display at Althorp.
“I think the main point is Diana would have been very proud of who he has become. That says it all, really. He has met every expectation of any mother, really, to become the fine man that he is.”
Spencer is married to Canadian Karen Villeneuve, a social entrepreneur from Edmonton, and says he visits Ontario’s Muskoka region each summer.
