THE Spencers have a 500-year-old history. Their ancestors came from a line of English aristocracy unbroken since the time of the Tudors. Althorp estate, where Diana, Princess of Wales is buried, has remained in their family for 19 generations. The ancestry of King Charles III by comparison is erratic. It is drawn from Scottish Stuarts, imported Hanoverians, and the impecunious German house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which, during World War I, to survive changed its cognomen to the House of Windsor.

To many, Charles Windsor’s decision to finally marry Diana Spencer (after dating her elder sister, Sarah) seemed a coup for the Spencer family. After centuries of living at one remove from the crown, they now had an opportunity of occupying centre stage. Instead, the Charles-Diana marriage in 1981 and their divorce 15 years later attracted as much coverage as the Trojan war.

On June 29, 1994, Prince Charles — in an unprecedented television interview — confessed to adultery. He was not the first heir apparent to have had extramarital affairs. There were others before him: Charles II, George IV, Edward VII. He was the first to admit his transgressions before his future subjects. The same evening, his estranged wife Diana retaliated,........

© Dawn