Every family it seems has their own Uncle Gary to some extent but I really don't see Charles Spencer as being as uncouth as Uncle Gary. When a death happens in the family, it affects each one in sometimes odd ways and although I do think Charles Spencer could have handled himself better at the time of Diana's funeral, I can also understand what he was going through. I don't think William and Harry were as close to their Uncle Charles' children that were closer to their own age mostly for the fact that they lived in South Africa with their mother and probably had little in common with Charles himself other than he was their mother's brother.
As far as Charles Spencer profiting off of his sister's death, maybe he did with setting up the museum at Althrop and the traveling Diana exhibit but I think also that he provided an outlet for the general public that wanted to remember Diana also. After all the mass hysteria at the time of the funeral, he provided a service that would have seemed out of place for the Royal Family to do.
Family is family. Shake any family tree and there's bound to be a few nuts that fall out.
I think you're misunderstanding a but of what I said (or meant to say, sorry for not being clearer).
I certainly don't think that Charles Spencer is as uncouth as Uncle Gary, more as you put it every family has their own Uncle Gary and in the Spencer family that role is filled by Charles Spencer.
I don't blame Spencer for his comments at the funeral; while I think the eulogy was at points inappropriate (and at other points extremely beautiful), the comments that were inappropriate were made in a time of extreme stress and I don't think we can really hold it against him too much. I also commend him for the museum because I do think it addressed something that the public wanted in a manner that at the time the BRF couldn't achieve.
What I criticize him for, however, is more that he uses her memory as much to keep her alive as to get his name in the press - much like how Uncle Gary makes comments about Catherine in order to get his name in the press. So like when Spencer was quoted congratulating William on the birth of George he had to include an anecdote about Diana's birth, and at least two of his books (
Althorp and
The Spencers) have used Diana as a selling point, all while Spencer claims that he avoids capitalizing on his sister's name. I do think this kind of behaviour may have influenced the relationship between William, Harry, and their uncle, as they seem to be closer to people who don't typically go to lengths to end up being quoted in the papers.
I do doubt that they're close with Spencer's children both because the elder ones live in South Africa and because they're not really close in age - Harry is 6 years older than Charles Spencer's eldest child (and 10 years older than the youngest from Spencer's first marriage). In comparrison, Sarah's elder two children are roughly the same age as William and Harry, and Jane's three children run from being two years older than William to a year younger than Harry.
