Observing Earl Spencer’s latest book attacking his in-laws, a historical context is perhaps needed. The bad blood between the Windsors and the Spencers goes back a long way and many commentators at the time of the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer argued that Diana was marrying well below her station. (“Earl’s royal reckoning”, DT, 23/9). With Diana proving to be a crowd favourite over time and the exposure of Charles’ proclivities, it seems most might agree today. When King James II was deposed in 1688, he was replaced initially by William of Orange and later the German imports, the Royal House of Hanover. Despite a Jacobite Rebellion with the loyal Scots in the 18th century, Bonnie Prince Charlie, grandson to James II never managed to reclaim his throne. His descendants today include the lineage of the Spencer family at Althorp. When Prince William is crowned, history will correct a 337-year injustice, adding legitimacy to his rule by being descended from both royal bloodlines and bringing peace to the Jacobite cause at last. The Earl’s punchy novel is surely the last battlefield in this war, ending now with a not-so-bonny Charlie in the firing line. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta 24Sept2026
