Spencer's eulogy guided by rage

In his eulogy to his sister on Saturday, Charles Spencer gave a demonstration of controlled fury, if such a thing is possible. He railed at the press for its relentless pursuit of his sister, damning the paparazzi for destroying her life. He railed at the House of Windsor for placing Diana in the constituency of the deserted. She had, after all, married a Windsor, been betrayed, divorced and denied the right to be known as Her Royal Highness.

In many ways, he was correct; his sister's association with the Windsors had not been a happy one and her relationship with the press one of love and hate. But he was wrong to suggest that the press was out to destroy Diana because it was evil and she good. Diana had courted the press when it suited her and had shunned it when it suited her. In her battles with Charles, some newspapers were willing to be used by her just as others made themselves available to Charles.

It should also be noted that Spencer's distaste for the press goes back to an episode in which he attracted the unwelcome interest of the London tabloids, and neither side emerged smelling of roses. Press coverage of the arrest and jailing of Spencer's best friend and best man on fraud charges did little to improve the relationship. Spencer's complaint with the press is nothing new. He knows from experience its intrusive, sneaky, greedy and uncaring nature, about its willingness to search garbage cans and pry into the most personal aspects of people's lives, about its fondness for playing judge, jury and executioner.

In his eulogy, Spencer said nothing of an armor-plated limousine, a virtual tank, being driven through central Paris at more than 160km/h with a drunk at the wheel. Paparazzi were in pursuit and those who took pictures without thinking of helping were scum. It has to be remembered, though, that they were in the business of satisfying an insatiable international appetite for pictures of the world's most popular woman.

-- The Bangkok Post