Buckingham Palace has issued an unusually strong response to claims by Charles Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, that King Charles III made an insensitive remark about his former wife shortly after her death in 1997.
Spencer makes the claim in his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is due to be published on September 22. The book is being released ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death next year and presents Spencer’s account of his sister’s life and the events surrounding her death.
According to excerpts published in the Daily Mail, Spencer says then-Prince Charles became angry during a disagreement over Diana’s funeral arrangements. Spencer had opposed the idea of Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 at the time, walking behind their mother’s coffin.
Spencer alleges that Charles reacted angrily during a telephone conversation and said: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” The claim has not been independently established, and Buckingham Palace has not directly confirmed or denied that the conversation took place.
In response, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the royal household did not normally comment on books as a matter of principle. However, the statement added that the King was mindful that grief could affect a person’s reason, judgement and memories many years after a loss.
The palace’s response appeared to challenge Spencer’s recollection without directly addressing the specific allegation. Reuters described the statement as an unusual public response from the palace to criticism contained in the memoir.
Diana died on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36 after the car carrying her crashed in a Paris tunnel while being pursued by paparazzi. Her death triggered an enormous public outpouring of grief in Britain and around the world.
The Princess of Wales had divorced Charles the previous year after their highly publicised marriage and separation. Her death also intensified public scrutiny of the British monarchy and its response to the tragedy.
Spencer, who delivered Diana’s funeral eulogy at Westminster Abbey, has previously spoken publicly about his relationship with his sister and the events surrounding her death. In his new memoir, he says he wanted to put down his own memories rather than allow accounts from others to define Diana’s story.
The controversy surrounding the palace’s response has drawn comparisons with a statement issued by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 after Prince Harry and Meghan made allegations about racism within the royal family. At the time, Buckingham Palace said that “some recollections may vary.”
Spencer’s memoir is expected to generate further discussion about Diana’s relationship with the royal family and the events surrounding her death as the 30th anniversary approaches.
