Earl Spencer returns to the royal circle after 7-year feud

Tales of rifts between the Spencers and the Windsors have refused to subside in the years that followed the outspoken pulpit address by Diana's younger brother.

Charles Spencer will today be seen with the Queen for the first time since he vowed at the Princess's funeral that her "blood family" would protect William and Harry. The comments were taken as a direct

attack on the royal family. Watched by millions, he delivered his emotional address in September 1997 in front of a congregation that included his former brotherinlaw, the Prince of Wales.

The Earl declared: "I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative, loving way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men, so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned."

In what appeared to be a reference to the stripping of Diana's HRH title, he also insisted: "She needed no royal title to generate her particular brand of magic."

Out in the streets of London, members of the public listening to his words on address systems broke into applause. Later the Earl insisted his tribute was not a criticism of the royal family, saying: "It just flowed. It was just something that came from my heart. I had no agenda."

Diana's former butler Paul Burrell, however, claimed the rift ran so deep that the Earl removed the Royal standard from Diana's coffin moments before it was buried and replaced it with a Spencer flag.

After making the switch in front of Charles, William and Harry at Althorp House, the Earl announced: "She is a Spencer now," Burrell once told the Daily Mirror.

The Earl disputed the story, saying in a statement: "The Queen's standard was removed as part of the ceremony by her own officer in a dignified and pre-agreed manner. Mr Burrell's allegations are yet more hurtful lies."

Since the funeral there have been other demonstrations of tensions between the family. At the Old Bailey trial of Burrell in 2002 when he was accused of the theft of Diana's possessions, the Princess's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale and mother Frances Shand Kydd were the main prosecution witnesses. But when the Queen remembered Burrell telling her that he had kept some items for safe keeping, the trial collapsed and he was cleared.

Although William and Harry were seen alongside the Earl and his family at the recent funeral of their grandmother Mrs Shand Kydd, the opening of the fountain is the first public appearance of the two families together since 1997.

Amid the public grief after Diana's death, the royal family was accused of being aloof. After initially remaining at Balmoral to comfort her grandsons William and Harry, the Queen addressed the nation.

She described Diana as "an exceptional and gifted human being", adding: "In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor inspire others with her warmth and kindness".

One adviser to the Queen reportedly said of today's speech: "She needs to use the word 'love', which was absent in her address on the eve of the funeral."