Charles Spencer’s forthcoming memoir about his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, is already creating controversy before it reaches bookstores.
In Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, the 9th Earl Spencer reportedly describes a heated telephone conversation with the future King Charles in the days following Diana’s death in August 1997. The disagreement centered on whether Prince William and Prince Harry, then just 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin.
Spencer says he strongly opposed the idea. He believed asking the grieving boys to participate in such a public procession would be cruel and emotionally damaging.
According to an excerpt from the book reported by several outlets, Spencer recalls Charles saying, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
It is an extraordinary claim. Buckingham Palace has now taken the unusual step of responding.
A Palace spokesperson said the King does not recognize those words and suggested that Spencer’s memory may have been affected by the intense grief surrounding Diana’s death. The Palace also indicated that his version of the conversation differs from the recollections of others involved at the time.
The disputed exchange reportedly came as the family was making difficult decisions about Diana’s funeral. Spencer says he objected after learning that William and Harry were expected to join the procession.
Both boys ultimately walked behind their mother’s coffin on September 6, 1997, accompanied by their father, grandfather Prince Philip, and uncle Charles Spencer. The image became one of the most memorable and painful scenes from the funeral.
Prince William has previously described the decision as a collective family choice. Prince Harry has also spoken about how difficult the walk was for him as a 12-year-old boy. Neither brother has publicly responded to Spencer’s newest account.
Charles Spencer promises his version of Diana’s story
Swan Song marks the first time Spencer has written at length about his relationship with Diana and the events surrounding her death.
The memoir covers their childhood together, their parents’ divorce, difficult experiences at boarding school, Diana’s marriage to the future King, and the final week of her life. Spencer has described the book as his most personal work and a tribute to the sister he knew long before she became one of the most famous women in the world.
He has also said that he wants to correct what he considers years of misinformation about Diana.
The book arrives nearly 30 years after Spencer delivered his forceful eulogy at Diana’s funeral. His words that day were widely interpreted as criticism of both the media and the Royal Family. Now, his account of the private turmoil surrounding the funeral is reopening questions about one of the monarchy’s most difficult periods.
His allegation about Charles remains just that: Spencer’s recollection of a private conversation nearly three decades ago. The Palace has directly disputed it. Without a recording or another definitive account, readers are being presented with two very different versions of an emotionally charged moment.
Stolen copies add another strange twist
The controversy has been accompanied by a highly unusual theft.
Four advance copies of Swan Song were reportedly stolen from a delivery truck in the Netherlands while the driver was stopped overnight. The Dutch-language books were part of a larger shipment being transported ahead of publication.
Police are investigating. There is currently no public evidence identifying who took the books, why only four copies were removed, or whether the theft was connected to the memoir’s more controversial contents.
The incident has nevertheless increased interest in a book that was already expected to attract worldwide attention.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister will be published in the United States and the United Kingdom on September 22. Penguin Random House plans to release the memoir internationally, with translations in multiple languages.
More excerpts are expected before publication, and this may not be the last response from Buckingham Palace. Royally Inspired will continue to follow confirmed developments as additional portions of the book become public.
Book cover courtesy of Penguin Books.
Interested in reading it yourself?
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister by Charles Spencer is now available.
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Sources: Reuters, Penguin Random House, People, and The Times
