Earl Spencer has defended his account of an alleged conversation with King Charles following Princess Diana’s death as his memoir nears publication.
LONDON: Earl Spencer has criticised the response from King Charles and Buckingham Palace to claims in his forthcoming memoir about his sister, Princess Diana, insisting that he stands by his recollection of a conversation with the then-Prince Charles following her death.
The dispute centres on Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is due to be published on Sept. 22. In the memoir, Spencer alleges that Charles told him during a phone call after Diana’s death in 1997, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” The claim has prompted an unusually direct response from Buckingham Palace.
The palace did not directly address whether Charles made the alleged remark. Instead, a spokesperson said the King was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory” many years after a loss.
Spencer has strongly objected to that response. In an interview reported by ITV, he described it as “astonishingly provocative” and argued that it effectively questioned the accuracy of his recollection without directly denying the words he says Charles used.
The Earl also compared the palace’s wording with the statement issued by Buckingham Palace in 2021 following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, when the palace said that “recollections may vary.” Spencer said the latest response reminded him of that formulation but regarded it as less effective and inappropriate in the circumstances.
Spencer has continued to defend his account, telling the BBC that he was “telling the truth” and that the words attributed to Charles were exactly what he remembers being said. The allegation remains Spencer’s account of a private conversation and has been disputed by the palace.
The memoir also revisits disagreements surrounding Diana’s funeral. Spencer describes discussions over whether her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, should walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession. William was 15 and Harry was 12 when Diana died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is presented as Spencer’s personal account of Diana’s life, their childhood and the events surrounding her death. The book is being published nearly three decades after Diana’s death and is expected to renew public attention on the royal family’s response to the events of 1997.
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