Charles Spencer has broken his silence on rumours surrounding the health of the Princess of Wales.
BBC's Laura Kuenssberg interviewed Charles during the week for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg when she asked him if the internet conspiracy theories following Kate's abdominal surgery were "more dangerous" than the press intrusion his sister, Princess Diana, suffered back in the nineties. In response, the Earl said: " No, I think it was more dangerous back in the day. I think, if I look back to '97 and Diana's death, I think that was so shocking too - the circumstances of her death were so shocking, that it did make the industry that supports the paparazzi really consider more carefully what it could and couldn't do. Not because they had a moral judgement, but because it was unacceptable to the public."
When asked spedifically about the conspiracy theories around Kate, he admitted: "I do worry about what happened to the truth."
The Earl was speaking to Laura following the release of his memoir, A Very Private School, on Thursday. In the book, Charles disclosed that he was sexually abused at the age of 11 by a female staff member when he was at boarding school.
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockHe wrote: "There seemed to be an unofficial hierarchy among her prey… she chose one boy each term to share her bed and would use him for intercourse. Her control over mesmerised boys was total, for we were starved of feminine warmth and desperate for attention and affection."
In another extract from the book, Charles also revealed he was beaten with the spikes of a cricket boot by the school's Latin master and described reliving his experiences at the school as "an absolutely hellish experience".
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales has mostly been out of the public eye as she continues to recover from her abdominal surgery, which she underwent in early January.
Numerous conspiracy theories have popped up in her absence, and they only intensified further when the royal released an edited image on Mother's Day.
© Andy CheungFollowing the furore, Kate was seen in a car with her husband, Prince William, as he headed for a Commonwealth Day service while she attended a private engagement. The Princess was seen in the back seat of the vehicle with William as they travelled from Adelaide Cottage to London.
In a statement released by Kensington Palace at the time of Kate's surgery, it was confirmed that the mum-of-three was "unlikely to return to public duties [until] after Easter".
© GettyThe Palace reemphasised this following speculation about the royal's health as they released a statement that read: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant."
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