Princess Diana's Nieces Said She Saved Them From a Potentially "Terrifying" Situation

• Princess Diana's nieces, Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, reflected on their late aunt in a new interview with Tatler.
• Lady Eliza recalled an incident when a photographer approached them while on a beach trip with their aunt, and Diana deftly steered them away from the camera.
• Eliza described Diana as "incredibly warm, maternal and loving," adding, "She always made an effort to connect with us as children and had a talent for reading children's hearts."

Princess Diana's nieces, Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, opened up about their late aunt in a new cover interview with Tatler, reflecting on a potentially "terrifying" incident when Diana steered them away from the paparazzi. Twins Amelia and Eliza—daughters of Diana's brother, Charles, Earl Spencer, and his ex-wife Victoria Aitken—spoke about losing their aunt when they were 5, and realizing her global significance as they grew older.

"We always just knew her as our aunt," Eliza told Tatler, via People. "Growing up in South Africa, I really had very little idea of how significant she was in the world until I was much older." She described Diana as "incredibly warm, maternal and loving," adding, "She always made an effort to connect with us as children and had a talent for reading children's hearts."

Eliza went on to share an incident when a paparazzo approached the twins while on a trip to the beach with Diana. "Obviously it could have been quite terrifying for us, being so young and not understanding what was happening. But she turned it into a game of who could get back to the car first. It was amazing how she protected us in a way that made us feel safe and not frightened," she recalled. "We had no idea what she was doing at the time."

"As a child, I realized the enormity of the loss for my father and family," Eliza said. "It was only later that I came to understand the significance of the loss of her as a figure in the world."