Buckingham Palace has addressed claims made by Earl Spencer in his forthcoming memoir, *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister*, asserting that King Charles believes "grief can cloud reason". The book, which is set to be serialised in the Daily Mail, alleges that in the days following Princess Diana’s death in August 1997, the then Prince Charles made a remark indicating she would be "forgotten soon enough".
The alleged comment was made during a significant dispute over funeral arrangements after Diana died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. The contention centred on the decision for Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12 respectively, to walk in their mother’s funeral procession, a decision that has since garnered widespread public discussion.
Earl Spencer claims in his memoir that he had insisted to Charles that Diana would not have wanted her sons to join the procession. According to the book, Charles subsequently remarked in a "stream of anger" that his ex-wife would soon be forgotten. The memoir quotes Charles as allegedly hissing: "Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!"
In response to the allegations, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson informed The Independent: "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." The Independent has not had sight of Earl Spencer’s memoir detailing these allegations.
According to the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer states that *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister* has been written with the intention of correcting "untruths" told about his older sister. The book is anticipated to offer a critical perspective on the royal family, emerging during a period marked by several family disputes and public scrutiny.
The Daily Mail reports that the memoir will include "a string of further extraordinary claims about Diana’s failed marriage to King Charles and the tumultuous aftermath of her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997."
At Diana’s funeral, held at Westminster Abbey, Earl Spencer delivered a televised eulogy. He famously pledged that Diana’s "blood family" would protect William and Harry "so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you planned".
Diana’s death provoked a profound outpouring of grief both in the UK and globally, where she remained a highly popular public figure. However, the period following her death also highlighted a perceived rift between the Royal Family and the grieving British public, with some criticising the royals’ initial reserved response as failing to align with the nation’s widespread sorrow.
Both Prince William and Prince Harry have previously spoken about their experience of walking in their mother’s funeral procession. Prince Harry recently commented to royal biographer Angela Levin for her book *Harry: Conversations with the Prince*: "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today. No child should lose their mother at such a young age and then have his grief observed by thousands of people."
In a 2017 BBC documentary titled *Diana 7 Days*, Prince William recalled feeling "completely numb, disorientated, dizzy" during the procession.
These new claims from Earl Spencer’s book precede Prince Harry’s first public engagements since returning to the UK in August. The Duke of Sussex is scheduled to attend the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards and the launch of the Invictus education programme INSPIRE, as well as participating in the WellChild Awards.
It is understood that earlier this summer, Prince Harry, along with his wife Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, visited Earl Spencer at his ancestral home, Althorp House in Northamptonshire. Princess Diana, who was raised at the Grade I listed property, which has been home to the Spencer family for over 500 years, is buried within its grounds.
On Thursday, senior members of the Royal Family are expected to carry out official engagements. This comes after the Palace’s unusual step of directly responding to the allegations in the upcoming memoir. Prince William and his wife Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales – also known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland – are set to make their first official visit to the Isle of Bute. Their day will include a visit to their namesake town of Rothesay, following previous visits to the Isles of Mull and Iona last year. Other engagements include the Duchess of Edinburgh’s visit to Zambia to commemorate the relationship between Zambia and the UK, and the Princess Royal attending the opening of a new History Centre at the German Military Cemetery in Staffordshire.
