‘Gaslit by a king’: Charles Spencer breaks silence after Palace hits back at his Diana memoir | Today’s news
Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer has spoken out after Buckingham Palace issued a rare response to claims in his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Spencer accused King Charles of “flaming” him and said he was shocked by the palace’s response.
Charles Spencer hits back after Palace responds to his Diana memoir
In an interview with ABC News’ Maggie Rulli on Good Morning America, Spencer addressed the statement issued by Buckingham Palace after excerpts from his book were released ahead of its September 22 release.
“Well, it’s not every day that the king gasses you, but I was really upset about it because I thought it was very, not only condescending, but not straightforward,” Spencer said. “What I said is clear and true. And what did they come back with? That. It doesn’t say he didn’t say that too. I found that interesting. I was actually really shocked.”
What did Charles Spencer claim about King Charles?
In Swan Song, Spencer recalls a disagreement with then-Prince Charles over the arrangements for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. According to his account, Charles told him, “We assure you we will soon forget her.”
Spencer claimed to remember the conversation clearly. The claims relate to events shortly after Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 aged 36.
The account prompted an unusually direct response from Buckingham Palace. While the palace does not generally comment on books about members of the royal family, it said King Charles was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud the mind, affect judgment and color memory”.
Spencer interpreted that response as an attempt to undermine his memory rather than an outright denial of the conversation.
What’s in Charles Spencer’s new book?
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister retraces Diana’s life from her brother’s perspective, including her childhood, marriage to Charles, motherhood, intense media scrutiny and the aftermath of her death.
The memoir also examines the events surrounding her funeral. Spencer wrote that he objected to Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, walking behind their mother’s coffin during the procession. He said he believed Diana would not have wanted her young sons to be at the center of such an emotionally difficult public event.
Spencer’s relationship with Diana has long brought him close to one of the most watched periods in the history of the modern royal family. He gave the eulogy at her funeral in Westminster Abbey and later went on to write and speak about his sister’s life and legacy.
Neither Prince William nor Prince Harry have commented publicly on the claims in Spencer’s memoir. The book is due to be published on September 22, and the Palace’s response and Spencer’s subsequent remarks will add a new layer to the long-running examination of Diana’s final years and death.
