Buckingham Palace has issued an unusually strong response to claims by Earl Spencer that King Charles made a dismissive remark about Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death.
Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, alleges in his forthcoming memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister that Charles told him: “We’ll forget her soon enough” during a bitter conversation following her death in 1997.
The Palace has rejected the account, saying grief can affect memory and judgement, while stopping short of directly calling Earl Spencer’s version false.
“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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,” the Palace said.
The wording has drawn comparisons with Queen Elizabeth II’s response in 2021 to claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, when she said that “recollections may vary.”
The dispute centres on an account of the days following Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
In an excerpt published by the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer claims Charles subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he objected to Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, walking behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.
Earl Spencer wrote that Charles “unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death.”
He then quoted Charles as saying: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
The Palace disputes the account and regards the alleged remark as inconsistent with Charles’s character, while also pointing to the circumstances surrounding the King’s grief at the time.
Julian Payne, Charles’s former communications secretary, told reporters that the alleged words were “just not language that I recognise.”
Payne also described the Palace response as “highly unusual”, saying it showed the strength of feeling behind the decision to challenge the account.
Earl Spencer’s memoir, due to be published next week, revisits one of the most difficult periods for the British royal family.
Diana’s death triggered widespread public grief and criticism of the Royal Family, with questions raised about how senior royals responded to the public mood.
Earl Spencer’s emotional speech at Diana’s funeral also became a defining moment in the aftermath of her death.
The dispute comes as several members of the Royal Family face a busy day of public engagements.
Charles is due to host senior figures from the artificial intelligence industry at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, where he will raise concerns about the rapid development of AI and its potential impact on society.
The King is expected to call on technology leaders to ensure AI remains safe and is used in ways that benefit humanity.
He will be joined by AI minister Kanishka Narayan and representatives from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia and Google DeepMind.
Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, are also visiting the Isle of Bute, where they will attend community and volunteering projects.
The couple, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland, are due to make their first official visit to Rothesay.
Their programme includes watching the traditional Scottish sport of shinty, visiting a community-owned pub and meeting people involved in protecting the island’s environment.
Prince Harry is also scheduled to make a major public appearance in the UK at the first Invictus Awards ceremony.
The event will recognise people involved in the Invictus Games and celebrate their “resilience, service and unconquered spirit.”
It is not known whether Meghan will attend with Harry.
Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK has already drawn attention, despite a recent letter from Charles’s representatives making clear that the couple are not carrying out royal engagements.
The Sussexes are expected to continue their own programme as private citizens, with their activities likely to attract significant media attention.
The couple have also faced scrutiny this week over reports that they changed their children’s schools following concerns about security during the school run.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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