Buckingham Palace Strongly Rebuts Claims in Earl Spencer’s Upcoming Memoir on Princess Diana

Buckingham Palace has entered into an unusually fierce war of words with Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, forcefully disputing allegations made in his upcoming memoir regarding the aftermath of her tragic death in 1997.

The dispute erupted following the publication of serialized excerpts from the book in the Daily Mail, which recount contentious interactions between the Spencer family and the Royal Family in the immediate wake of the fatal Paris car crash.

Among the most explosive claims, Earl Spencer alleges that the then-Prince of Wales made a deeply dismissive remark about Diana during a heated telephone conversation. According to Spencer, Charles angrily insisted to him that "we'll forget her soon enough."

The book claims this exchange occurred after Earl Spencer strongly objected to plans for Diana's young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry—who were aged just 15 and 12 at the time—to walk behind their mother's coffin during the funeral cortege. Spencer wrote that he believed Diana would not have wanted her children subjected to such an ordeal.

In the excerpt, Spencer describes being on the receiving end of a "stream of anger" from Charles. The Earl wrote that the future King unleashed what he interpreted as pent-up contempt for Diana, alongside deep frustration that the world had been so profoundly shaken and overwhelmed by her passing.

Buckingham Palace responded with an exceptionally robust statement aimed at casting serious doubt on the accuracy of the Earl's account, breaking its traditional protocol of ignoring such publications.

"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 Palace statement read.

Royal officials firmly rejected the alleged remarks, viewing the depiction as entirely inconsistent with the King’s character. They stressed that Charles is a compassionate man who, during that devastating period, was consumed by his own profound grief while focusing on supporting his two bereaved young sons.

The sharp and measured tone of the Palace's rebuttal bears a striking resemblance to the late Queen Elizabeth II's historic response following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 2021 television interview, in which she memorably observed that "recollections may vary."

Earl Spencer’s memoir, titled *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister*, is scheduled for publication next week and looks set to reopen one of the most painful and fraught chapters in recent royal history, providing an intimate perspective from Diana’s own family.

The sudden loss of the Princess of Wales created an intensely volatile atmosphere across Britain, during which the royal establishment faced severe public criticism for appearing distant, emotionally detached, and out of touch with the national mood.

The sense of grievance was famously amplified at the time by Earl Spencer’s emotional and defiant address at Westminster Abbey during Diana's funeral, and his new memoir promises to revisit those deeply sensitive events from behind the scenes.

The escalating war of words threatens to cast a shadow over a heavily packed day of public engagements for members of the Royal Family across the United Kingdom.

King Charles is set to address the global development of artificial intelligence, hosting industry executives and tech leaders at Dumfries House in Ayrshire to urge that safeguards be established to keep the technology safe and aligned with human values.

In remarks prepared for the Ayrshire gathering, the King is expected to emphasize that those who value humanity and its vital moral component are seeking reassurance that people will not lose control of their collective destiny, noting that the pace of AI advancement is both intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure.

The King, who will be joined by AI minister Kanishka Narayan along with representatives from major firms including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Google DeepMind, will call for international cooperation to ensure the technology serves humanity, community, and the natural world.

Simultaneously, Prince William and Catherine are undertaking an official visit to the Isle of Bute—carrying out engagements under their Scottish titles as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay—where they are meeting local community groups, observing the traditional sport of shinty, and visiting a community-owned pub.

Rounding out an exceptionally busy royal calendar, Prince Harry is also scheduled to make his first major UK appearance since his return, attending the inaugural Invictus awards ceremony to honour the resilience and service of wounded military personnel.