Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer and brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has published a memoir that has reopened one of the most painful chapters in recent British royal history. Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, released on Tuesday, contains allegations about King Charles III's conduct toward his first wife and about the royal household's handling of her death in 1997.
Among the most contentious claims is an account of a confrontation between Spencer and the then-Prince Charles over the decision that Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, should walk behind their mother's coffin during her funeral procession through London. Spencer says he told Charles that Diana would not have wanted her sons subjected to such an ordeal. According to the book, Charles "went ballistic" and told him: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."
Spencer further alleges that Charles displayed "contempt" for his ex-wife and sounded "elated" after her death in a car crash in Paris at the age of 36.
A rare palace rebuke
Buckingham Palace responded to the publication of excerpts last week with a statement whose sharp tone is unusual for an institution that generally avoids direct engagement with criticism. "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 said.
Spencer has refused to back down. In an interview with the BBC, he insisted his account was truthful and turned the palace's language back on the monarch: "Is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?"
The dispute has revived memories of the extraordinary public mourning that followed Diana's death and the widespread perception at the time that Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family were slow to grasp the depth of national and international grief. Spencer's eulogy at Westminster Abbey, in which he pledged that Diana's "blood family" would continue her "imaginative and loving" legacy in raising her sons, was widely read as a rebuke to the Windsors.
The royal household has spent decades trying to move beyond that period. The more approachable public style adopted by William and Harry, and in later years by Charles himself, is often described as part of that effort. The palace's decision to issue any statement at all suggests the allegations are being treated as a serious reputational matter.
Concerns about Prince Harry
In the book, Spencer also criticises the royal family for what he calls a "lack of obvious care" toward the young Harry. He describes his nephew as "tiny, and slight and bereft" after the funeral and writes that the boy "needed Diana's hugs, of course, and they would forever be denied him. But instead of calm and nurture, he was allowed to spin out of control."
Spencer told the BBC that he wanted to record his own thoughts and memories about his sister "once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths." Asked whether the treatment of Harry and his wife, Meghan, by parts of the press echoes the coverage his sister endured, Spencer said Diana "was really brought low by all that criticism" and added: "I suppose it's a pity when I see echoes of that now."
Some commentators have questioned why Spencer felt the need to revisit the trauma three decades on. Others note that the book lands at a delicate moment for the monarchy, which has sought to project stability after a period of family rifts and health challenges. The king has continued to carry out public duties, including a state visit to Canada in May, while the palace has declined to comment further on the book.
The feud also touches on the wider question of how Britain remembers Diana. Her image remains a fixture of public life, from commemorative exhibitions to the auction of the so-called "revenge dress" she wore in 1994, which is heading to auction for the first time. For many Britons, the Spencer family's grievances are inseparable from that legacy.
Whether the book changes public perceptions of Charles is uncertain. What is clear is that the argument between the palace and the Spencer family, dormant for years, is once again being conducted in public — and that both sides appear willing to let it run.
