Palace hits back at Earl Spencer's claim over King Charles and Diana
Earl Spencer's memoir claims King Charles said 'we'll forget her soon enough' after Diana's death, prompting a rare rebuke from Buckingham Palace.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Buckingham Palace has delivered a rare and strongly worded rebuke to Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, after he claimed in a new memoir that King Charles said she would be forgotten soon after her death.
The claim appears in extracts from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, being serialised by the Daily Mail. Earl Spencer says the comment came during a telephone row with the then Prince Charles in the days after Diana's death in 1997, over whether Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, should walk behind her coffin at her funeral.
Spencer writes that Charles unleashed his 'pent-up contempt' for Diana and said: 'Rest assured, we will forget her soon enough.' He says he has always taken the remark to be a sign of Charles's contempt for his ex-wife.
Buckingham Palace responded with 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 judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.' The palace did not directly deny the claim but made clear its displeasure.
The intervention is unusually forceful for a palace that has historically declined to respond to memoirs. It made no comment when Prince Harry's book Spare was published. The statement has been likened to the late Queen's 'recollections may vary' after the Sussexes' Oprah Winfrey interview, but is seen as more pointed.
The book is due out next Tuesday, with further extracts expected. Earl Spencer is also set to give interviews, suggesting the row may intensify in the coming days.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham Palace responded that grief can cloud a person's memory. | ||||||
| Earl Spencer's book, titled Swan Song, is being serialised in the Daily Mail. | ||||||
| The memoir 'Swan Song Diana my Sister' contains an allegation. | · | |||||
| A phone call between Earl Spencer and Prince Charles discussed whether William and Harry would walk behind Diana's coffin. | · | · | · | |||
| A commentator described the palace response as an example of 'royal gaslighting'. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Earl Spencer previously sued the Daily Mail for libel in 2018 and was awarded damages. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Four copies of a book were stolen from a truck packed with thousands. | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Peter Hunt said the palace response would boost sales of Earl Spencer's book. | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News focused on the sensational nature of the story, from the initial theft of book copies to the explosive claims and palace response. The presenters treated it with a mix of cynicism and humour, speculating about a publicity stunt and noting the Earl's past libel case against the Daily Mail. They also highlighted the awkward timing and the potential impact on Princes William and Harry.
- “Copies of Earl Spencer's sensational book about Princess Diana have been stolen from a lorry just before its exclusive serialisation by the Daily Mail.”
- “This is a publicity stunt, Patrick.”
ITV gave substantial coverage to the palace's unusually strong response, with reporters describing it as 'war' from palace sources. The segment emphasised the extraordinary nature of the royal statement and its comparison to the late Queen's 'recollections may vary' line. It also noted that Earl Spencer is due to give interviews.
- “I mean, I think all I've got to say is yikes.”
- “I spoke to a palace source tonight who referred to it as quote unquote war.”
BBC News presented the story as a developing royal drama, with senior correspondent Daniela Relph analysing the significance of the palace's decision to respond. The coverage stressed how unusual it was for the palace to comment on books, and noted the stinging tone of the statement.
- “Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed King Charles said, we'll forget her soon enough, days after her death.”
- “They have issued an absolutely stinging statement in response, really pushing back on what Earl Spencer has said and not hiding their fury.”
BBC ONE West covered the story as part of its national and regional news round-up, with the same senior royal correspondent explaining the claims and the palace response. The tone was factual, highlighting the unusual nature of the palace's statement.
- “Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed that King Charles said we'll forget her soon enough, days after her death, in an extract from his upcoming memoir.”
- “It is carefully worded and robust, Sophie, and the fact that the Palace released that kind of statement tonight is a sign of just how angry they are about Earl Spencer's claims.”
BBC Two's Newsnight offered a more analytical take, with former royal correspondent Peter Hunt providing sharp commentary. The discussion focused on whether the palace's response was wise, with Hunt arguing it had boosted book sales and amounted to 'royal gaslighting'. The segment also reflected on the emotional rawness of the events of 1997.
- “If revenge is a dish served cold, he's clearly put this in one of his many friezes I think he has on his estate.”
- “He has boosted the sale of this book.”
Sky News provided comprehensive coverage across multiple programmes, with royal correspondent Laura Bundock emphasising the historic nature of the palace's response. The coverage drew parallels with the late Queen's 'recollections may vary' statement and noted that the palace had remained silent on Prince Harry's book. The tone was serious and analytical.
- “This really is a remarkable intervention from Buckingham Palace and the King, a very robustly written statement.”
- “There are certainly echoes of that statement, but this statement tonight goes so much further.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.