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Palace Rejects Earl Spencer's Claims in Diana Memoir
Confirmed
In Short: Buckingham Palace disputes Earl Spencer's account of a heated conversation with Prince Charles following Princess Diana's death.
Buckingham Palace is in a war of words with Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, over claims in his upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
According to an excerpt published by the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer alleges that Prince Charles, then the Prince of Wales, told him, 'We'll forget her soon enough' after Diana's death in 1997.
The Palace responded with a rare statement, saying, 'While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.
Earl Spencer's book, set to be released next week, promises an insider's view of Princess Diana's life and death from his perspective.
The Palace's unusually strong response suggests the claims have angered them, with a spokesperson noting that the language used by the King is 'not language that I recognise,' according to Julian Payne, the monarch's former communications secretary.
The publication of the book and the ensuing dispute have reignited public sentiment that the royal family is reluctant to show empathy in times of hardship, particularly surrounding Princess Diana's death.
What's confirmed
- "While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss," it said.
What's still developing
- In the published excerpt, Earl Spencer says the then-Prince of Wales subjected him to a "stream of anger" after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to have to walk in her funeral procession.
- It is a claim that is being rejected by the Palace, who see it as being entirely out of character for a man with a deeply compassionate nature, who at the time was dealing with his own grief and that of their two sons.
- He said the "highly unusual" statement from the Palace demonstrated the "strength of feeling that there must have been for them to feel that they needed to go out there and correct it".
- The language is reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth's unexpectedly firm response to claims of racism by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2021, with the comment that "recollections may vary".
- The death of Princess Diana, a hugely popular figure, had created a volatile atmosphere, in which the royals were accused of failing to show feeling and empathy, and had seemed out of touch with the public mood.
- Earl Spencer's emotional and defiant speech at her funeral added to that cloud of grievance hanging over Princess Diana's sudden death.
- "Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped. I assumed the pause signaled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death," Spencer alleged, according to the Daily Mail.
- "‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’" According to the excerpt, the disagreement between King Charles and the 9th Earl of Spencer was regarding the decision to have Prince William and Prince Harry, then 15 and 12, walk behind their mother's casket during the funeral procession.