Earl Spencer claims that King Charles, then Prince of Wales, told him over the phone that people would “forget” Princess Diana soon after her death in 1997. This claim is made in a new book by Earl Spencer and has prompted Buckingham Palace to issue a rare rebuttal. The palace statement suggests that grief can affect memory but does not directly address the specific accusation.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Charles Spencer, Diana's brother and the ninth Earl Spencer, has alleged in his upcoming memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" that just days after Princess Diana’s death on September 8, 1997, he received a phone call from then-Prince Charles who told him, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” This claim is made amid disputes over funeral arrangements for the princess, including whether Princes William and Harry, aged 15 and 12 at the time, should walk in their mother's funeral procession. Earl Spencer insisted Diana would not have wanted her young sons to endure such a public ordeal. In response, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying Charles is "mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory," without directly addressing the specific claim but indicating it could be influenced by the passage of time.
Written for “Charles Diana Claims” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 14465: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-17
King Charles has hit back at an explosive claim that he said people would forget his first wife, Diana, “soon enough” after her death in a high-speed car crash in 1997.
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people → hit → 1997
Buckingham Palace took the rare step of rebutting the new claim after Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, revealed his account of private conversations in a new book about his sister.
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brother → take → sister
The claim centres on the earl’s strong belief that the Princess of Wales would not have wanted her two sons, Princes William and Harry, to walk behind her coffin in her funeral procession.
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sons → centre → procession
Earl Spencer asserts in his new book that he received a phone call from the king, then the Prince of Wales, to confirm the plan for the young men, then aged 15 and 12, to be part of the procession.
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men → assert → procession
Diana’s brother says he complained about the plan, but Charles insisted it would go ahead.
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it → say → plan
“He 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,” the earl writes in the new book.
“‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’.”
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we → unleash → her
Earl Spencer joined Charles and Prince Philip in the funeral procession at a time of national mourning for Diana, and he delivered the eulogy for his sister in Westminster Cathedral in September 1997.
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he → join → September
Extracts from his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, appeared in The Daily Mirror amid widespread expectations he could be heavily critical of Charles and the royal family.
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he → appear → Charles
Earl Spencer delivered a eulogy at his Diana’s funeral in Westminster Abbey that was later named one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century.
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that → deliver → century
He has described the new book as a continuation of that eulogy.
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He → describe → eulogy
Prior to the book’s release, he said: “The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective ...
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aim → say → perspective
I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way.”
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I → want → way
Earl Spencer’s new claim appears likely to heighten the rifts within the family when Prince Harry has a strained relationship with his father after his memoir, Spare, which also touched on the decision over the funeral.
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which → appear → funeral
“It seemed a lot to ask of two young boys,” Harry wrote.
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Harry → seem → boys
Mummy’s brother, Uncle Charles [Earl Spencer], raised hell.
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Charles → raise → hell
‘You can’t make these boys walk behind their mother’s coffin!
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boys → make → coffin
It’s barbaric’.”
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It → ’ → ?
While Earl Spencer’s concerns have been long known, his claim that Charles said Diana would be forgotten “soon enough” has made headlines in Britain.
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Diana → know → Britain
The attention prompted Buckingham Palace to counter the claim without going into the details of the contested phone conversation from almost three decades ago.
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attention → prompt → conversation
“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 in a statement.
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palace → comment → statement
Princess Diana was killed in a crash in Paris at the age of 36 when paparazzi photographers were chasing the car she was in with her partner at the time, Dodi Fayed.
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she → kill → time
An inquest into her death ruled that it was caused by the gross negligence of the driver, Henri Paul, who was drunk, and the pursuit by the paparazzi.
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who → rule → paparazzi
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world.
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what → get → world
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