What made the loss especially hard for Charles was their closeness in age—they were just three years apart. That closeness had bonded them throughout childhood, and they had remained emotionally connected over the years.

His older sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 70, and Lady Jane Fellowes, 68, while dearly loved, didn’t share that same day-to-day childhood connection with him.

“I have two sisters who I adore, but they are quite a lot older than me,” he said. “So I don’t really share my childhood with anyone anymore. That’s the greatest loss that you can never really put right.”

Charles became fiercely protective of Diana

In the months leading up to Diana’s death, the media was relentless, especially following her separation from then-Prince Charles. The intense public scrutiny didn’t just affect Diana—it also deeply impacted those closest to her.

Charles admitted that at times, the coverage would enrage him, particularly when it became clear some journalists no longer saw his sister as a real person.

“I remember just before she died, a female journalist wrote a really horrendous article,” he said. “By that stage I don’t think that journalist was thinking of Diana as a person. She was something to make money off or whatever. And so I wrote to her in outrage.

“I think particularly as a brother of a sister, you always feel like you want to get stuck in really.”

Through his words, it’s clear that Charles Spencer’s love for his sister has never faded. And though the world lost an icon, he lost someone far more personal—his closest childhood companion.