Princess Diana’s brother gives rare glimpse into childhood life
Charles Spencer has posted a rare throwback photograph with his sister, Princess Diana, on to Twitter
The siblings were shot standing side by side, with a much taller Diana wrapping her arm around her brother.
Earl Spencer, 56, shared the sweet photo with no caption and royal fans swarmed the comment to praise the royal.
"Her legacy and influence remains and in fact gets stronger and stronger as years go by. It's unbelievable how much she is still loved," one Twitter user wrote.
"She showed the way, and she is dearly missed by charities. She could move mountains."
Another wrote: "Such a lovely photo! No one will ever replace Diana, she was unique, as your [funeral] speech at Westminster Abbey expressed so well.”
The photo has been shared following the Earl's public accusations that the BBC sent him a "piecemeal apology" for using fake documents to secure Diana's famous Panorama TV Interview 25 years ago.
The interview is what launched journalist Martin Bashir to fame, as it is where Diana famously said there were "three of us" in her marriage to Prince Charles – a reference to his mistress Camilla Parker Bowles.
Spencer has been vocal on Twitter about the ordeal.
1/2 Many people are, quite understandably, asking why I’ve waited till now to come forward with the truth about how the @BBCPanorama with my sister came about. While I knew that Martin Bashir used fake bank statements and other dishonesty to get my sister to do the interview,...
— Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) November 8, 2020
"Many people are, quite understandably, asking why I've waited till now to come forward with the truth about how the @BBCPanorama with my sister came about," he wrote.
"While I knew that Martin Bashir used fake bank statements and other dishonesty to get my sister to do the interview … what I only found out 2 weeks ago, thanks to journalist Andy Webb's persistent use of the Freedom of Information Act, is that the BBC also knew. Not only knew about it, but that they covered it up."
The Sunday Times revealed in October that Bashir created fake bank statements in an orchestrated effort to convince Spencer and Princess Diana that staff were leaking information about her.
A 1996 BBC internal investigation said the documents had "no bearing" on the prospect of the interview, but Spencer accused the network of "sheer dishonesty".
A family friend of the family labelled Bashir "awful", and told The Sunday Times that the forged bank statements were key to the interview taking place.
"Without Spencer, Bashir wouldn't have got to her," they said
BBC Director-General Tim Davie has reportedly issued an apology to the Earl.
After new claims about these documents came to light the BBC released the following statement:
"Martin Bashir is seriously unwell so we are unable to put these questions to him. We would urge you to consider carefully the implications of running a story where the central figure concerned is unable to provide a right of reply.
"BBC records from the period indicate that Martin had explained to the BBC that the documents had been shown to Earl Spencer, and that they were not shown to the Princess of Wales. They indicate that Martin had met the Princess of Wales before the mocked-up documentation existed."
Bashir is reportedly battling COVID-19.