Charles Spencer has published a memoir titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,
which contains explosive allegations regarding King Charles III and the late Princess Diana, according to reports from Yahoo News. The book, which is serialised in the Daily Mail, details interactions and memories from the brother of the late princess, including a claim that the monarch sounded giddily elated
on the night Diana died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36, as reported by Channel NewsAsia.
Memoir Claims Spark Royal Controversy
According to excerpts from the book, the author alleges that he and the then-prince engaged in a heated phone call concerning whether Princes William and Harry—then aged 15 and 12—should walk behind their mother’s coffin in the funeral procession, as detailed by NBC News. Spencer wrote that Charles unleashed a stream of anger and stated, Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!
as noted by Yahoo News.
Buckingham Palace Issues Rare Rebuke
Buckingham Palace responded with an unusual and forceful statement addressing the allegations made in the memoir, as reported by NBC News. Although the palace noted that it does not normally comment on books as a matter of principle, a spokesperson released a 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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,
according to Channel NewsAsia.
Royal commentators and media outlets quickly compared the language of the palace’s statement to Queen Elizabeth II’s response in 2021, when she remarked that some recollections may vary
regarding claims made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as noted by Channel NewsAsia. Julian Payne, a former communications secretary to Charles, told the BBC that the language attributed to the king by Spencer is just not language that I recognise,
according to Channel NewsAsia.
Additional Revelations in Swan Song
The memoir also touches upon Diana and Charles’s high-profile marriage, which lasted from 1981 until their divorce was finalized in 1996, and includes a claim that Diana confided in her brother about the marriage during her lifetime, according to AOL. In the serialized excerpts, Spencer writes that Diana stated, My husband is in love with his valet,
as reported by AOL. Previously, a similar allegation regarding a royal valet had been strongly denied by Charles’s private secretary in 2003, who called the rumor totally untrue and without a shred of substance,
according to AOL.
Ahead of the publication of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,
additional headlines emerged when four copies of the book were stolen from a delivery truck in the Netherlands, prompting an investigation by Dutch authorities, as reported by Yahoo News. Royal observers continue to monitor the situation as the book’s release date approaches amidst widespread media coverage.