Earl Spencer has claimed that King Charles told him Princess Diana would soon be forgotten, during an angry dispute over whether her young sons should walk behind her coffin at her funeral in 1997.
The allegation appears in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, a memoir by Diana’s younger brother, which recounts the events surrounding her death and funeral.
Buckingham Palace responded with an unusual statement, saying the King was 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 said it did not generally comment on books, but its response amounted to a clear challenge to Earl Spencer’s account of the conversation.
Earl Spencer’s account of the funeral dispute
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Her funeral took place at Westminster Abbey on September 6, six days later, with Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, walking in the procession behind their mother’s coffin.
Earl Spencer writes that he objected when he was told the boys would take part, saying: “That’s not going to happen.”
He says Prince Charles then telephoned him and pointed out that he had walked in the funeral procession for Lord Mountbatten, his great-uncle, 18 years earlier.
According to the memoir, the Earl replied that Charles had been 30 at the time, while William and Harry were still children. He says the then Prince of Wales “went nuts” and continued angrily speaking to him.
Earl Spencer claims Charles then said: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”.
He writes that he was “so stunned” that he took several seconds to respond before saying: “I can’t believe you just said that,” and ending the call.
The Earl later delivered a highly critical eulogy for Diana at Westminster Abbey, after walking alongside William and Harry, Charles and Prince Philip in the funeral procession through central London.
In the memoir, he says he wrote the book to correct what he regards as “untruths” told about his sister. It contains further claims about Diana’s marriage to Charles and the aftermath of her death.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published worldwide next Tuesday. The book’s publication has also been accompanied by reports of the overnight theft of four copies from a parked lorry in the Netherlands, which police are investigating.
