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Charles Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, claims in a new memoir that Prince Charles sounded "giddily elated like a lottery winner" when he called him shortly after Diana’s death in 1997. Spencer suggests that Charles was focused on how Diana's death would impact his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. Buckingham Palace responded to the claims, noting that grief can distort memory and judgment over time but declined further comment.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
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, brother of Princess Diana, claims in his upcoming memoir, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," that then-Prince Charles sounded “giddily elated” and like a lottery winner when he called to inform him about Princess Diana's fatal car crash in 1997. In the book excerpt published by The Daily Mail, Spencer describes how unlike other callers who were stunned and speechless, Prince Charles was oddly upbeat during their conversation.
Spencer further states that Charles informed him early the next morning that he had told their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, about Diana’s death in their bedrooms at Balmoral. He speculates this could have been because Charles felt freed to pursue a relationship with now-Queen Camilla, whom he later married.
In response to these claims, Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement acknowledging that grief can cloud reason, judgment, and memory, but did not directly address Spencer's specific allegations. The book is set to be released next week, continuing the ongoing debate over Diana’s legacy and Charles’s actions during those tumultuous days in 1997.
Written for “Charles Elated After Diana's Death” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.
Charles appeared “giddily elated like a lottery winner” when he spoke to Princess Diana's brother shortly after her death in 1997, according to a new memoir by Diana's younger brother, Charles Spencer.
uncertain
he → appear → brother
In an extract from his forthcoming book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer recalls receiving a call from the then Prince Charles after Diana died in a car crash in Paris.
asserted
Diana → recall → Paris
While other people calling Spencer were “stunned” and struggling to express their condolences, Spencer writes that Charles sounded “giddily elated — like a lottery winner”.
asserted
Charles → call → winner
Charles also told him that he had informed his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, of their mother's death that morning at Balmoral.
asserted
he → tell → Balmoral
Spencer says the conversation sounded “strangely matter-of-fact” given the circumstances.
asserted
conversation → say → circumstances
Looking back, Spencer writes that he suspected Charles's immediate reaction may have been focused on what Diana's death meant for his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
uncertain
death → look → Bowles
“I suspect the prince's first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved,” Spencer writes, according to the published extract.
uncertain
Spencer → suspect → extract
The claim comes nearly three decades after Diana's death and forms part of Spencer's highly personal account of his sister's life and her troubled marriage to Charles.
uncertain
claim → come → Charles
What happened between Charles and Diana?
asserted
What → happen → Charles
Charles and Diana married in 1981 but separated in 1992 after years of marital difficulties.
asserted
Charles → marry → difficulties
Their divorce was finalised in 1996, just a year before Diana's death.
asserted
divorce → finalise → death
Diana had publicly discussed Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, famously saying in a 1995 BBC interview that there were “three of us in this marriage”.
asserted
Diana → discuss → marriage
Charles later married Camilla in 2005.
asserted
Charles → marry → 2005
Diana died on August 31, 1997, after the car carrying her and Dodi Fayed crashed in a Paris tunnel while being pursued by paparazzi.
asserted
car → die → paparazzi
Palace responds to Diana's brother
The claims have triggered an unusual response from Buckingham Palace.
uncertain
claims → respond → Palace
The Palace said Wednesday that it does not normally comment on books but noted that grief can affect how people remember events decades later.
“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,” a Palace spokesperson said.
asserted
spokesperson → say → loss
The statement came after earlier extracts from Spencer's memoir claimed that Charles told him, during an argument surrounding Diana's funeral, “Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.”
asserted
we → come → her
Spencer has said he wrote the memoir to correct what he considers untruths about his sister.
asserted
he → say → sister
The book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is due to be published next week, with the latest extracts likely to renew scrutiny of the relationship between Diana, Charles and the wider royal family.
asserted
extracts → publish → Diana
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