Buckingham Palace Issues Rare Rebuke Against Earl Charles Spencer Over Princess Diana Memoir Claims

Buckingham Palace has issued a rare and forceful public denial in response to claims made by Earl Charles Spencer in his upcoming memoir concerning the late Princess Diana. The dispute centers on an alleged telephone exchange between the then-Prince Charles and his former brother-in-law during the emotional days following Diana’s death in a 1997 Paris car crash at age 36.

In his soon-to-be-published book titled "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Spencer recounts a heated argument over whether Princes William and Harry—who were 15 and 12 years old at the time—should walk behind their mother’s coffin in her funeral procession. According to an excerpt published in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, Spencer states that he argued Diana would not want her sons to endure such an ordeal. He claims this was met with a stream of anger from Charles, who allegedly expressed contempt for Diana and remarked that the world would forget her soon enough.

Buckingham Palace responded on Wednesday with a robust statement directly addressing the allegations. While noting that the institution does not normally comment on books as a matter of principle, the palace suggested that the passage of time and the emotional weight of fraternal grief might have impacted Spencer's recollection of events.

“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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” the palace statement read.

Diana’s 1997 funeral procession remains a defining moment in modern royal history, with her brother and two young sons famously walking solemnly behind her coffin through central London. At the time of her death, the royal family faced intense public and media criticism for appearing slow to react to the overwhelming global outpouring of grief for the princess, who had married Charles in 1981 before their high-profile marriage ended in divorce in 1996.

Royal commentators note that the palace's proactive denial is a departure from its usual approach to handling controversial books about the family. In 2023, the royal family largely avoided commenting on Prince Harry's explosive memoir, "Spare." However, the palace did issue a brief statement in 2021—famously noting that “recollections may vary”—after Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made allegations of racism during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

India McTaggart, a royal correspondent at The Telegraph, told NBC News that Earl Spencer’s memoir is expected to contain several incendiary claims. McTaggart suggested that Wednesday’s statement may have been an effort by the palace to get ahead of upcoming allegations and shape the narrative before the book's official release.

"The palace will certainly be bracing for more headlines," McTaggart said, adding that public engagements for King Charles, Prince William, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, will continue alongside Prince Harry's scheduled appearances in Britain, placing members of the royal family in the country simultaneously.

"Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" is scheduled to be published on Tuesday. As the release date approaches, public interest remains high regarding the historical tensions surrounding the events of 1997 and the ongoing scrutiny faced by the British royal family.