August 31, 2017 marks 20 years since Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car accident at just 36 years old. While everybody knows about the young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, that she left behind, she also had a younger brother, Charles Spencer, 53, who was left incredibly devastated by the death. “I was furious, I wasn’t just angry,” he admits in The Story of Diana, an upcoming two-part TV series, according to People. “[I thought], what could I have done? But you always think…God, I wish I could have protected her. It was just…it was devastating.” Here’s more to know about Charles:
1. He’s a journalist. After earning an education in Modern History at Eton and Magdalen College in Oxford, Charles went on to work for NBC News. He served as an on-air correspondent from 1986 until 1995, mostly working for highly-publicized programs like the Today Show and NBC Nightly News. He’s also been published in known papers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and Vanity Fair. Since his father’s death in 1992, Charles has also served as ‘The Earl Spencer.’
2. He’s been married three times. Charles married his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, in September 1989 (Prince Harry was a page boy in the wedding). After moving to Cape Town, South Africa, Charles and Victoria divorced in 1997. They had four children together: Kitty Eleanor Spencer (1990), Eliza Victoria Spencer (1992), Katya Amelia Spencer (1992), and Louis Frederick John Spencer (1994). Charles married Caroline Freud in 2001, and they had two kids: Edmund Charles Spencer (2003) and Lara Caroline Spencer (2006). They split in 2007. He married his third wife, Karen Gordon, in June 2011 and they welcomed a daughter, Charlotte Diana Spencer, named for Charles’ sister, in 2012.
3. He was very close to Diana. Charles gave the eulogy at Diana’s funeral, and made it clear in his speech that he was not a fan of how the Royal Family and press treated her. Diana was buried at Althorp, which is the Spencer family estate. He opened a museum there in 1998, where Diana’s wedding dress and other personal items are displayed. He also wrote several books about his sister and family history following Diana’s death.
4. He is involved in a lot of charities. Charles founded Diana’s Memorial Fund, and all of the profits he makes from the Princess Diana museum are put into this charity, memorializing his sister. He’s also contributed to the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Lifeline and Childline charities and the Neslon Mandela Children’s Fund, among others.
5. He was at Prince William & Kate Middleton’s wedding. In 2011, Charles was a guest at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s highly-publicized wedding. However, when he married his third wife two months later, Kate, William and Prince Harry were not in attendance.
HollywoodLifers, what were you most surprised to learn about Charles?