ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-09-17 · by Shafiq Najib, Katie Kindelan
Charles Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, released excerpts from his new book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," which include allegations that King Charles III was elated after Diana's 1997 death and dismissive during discussions about her funeral arrangements. Buckingham Palace responded unusually to the claims, acknowledging for the first time that fraternal grief can distort memory and judgment years later. The book is set to be released on September 22, recounting Spencer’s perspective of his sister's life and relationship with Charles, who divorced Diana in 1996 after a 15-year marriage.
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, Diana's brother and Earl Spencer, alleges in a soon-to-be-published memoir that then-Prince Charles told him over the phone days after Diana’s death, "rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough." The alleged conversation took place while they were discussing funeral arrangements where Diana’s sons, Princes William (15) and Harry (12), would walk behind their mother's coffin. Earl Spencer insists that this was against what Diana would have wanted for her children.
In response to these claims, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying Charles is "mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment, and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss." The memoir, titled "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," aims to correct what Earl Spencer considers as untruths about his sister.
Written for “Charles Spencer Memoir Controversy” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 37 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 17129 · logged 2026-09-18
A new book by the brother of the late Princess Diana includes claims about King Charles III's reaction to her death, prompting a rare reply from Buckingham Palace.
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book → include → Palace
In the book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Charles Spencer alleges that Charles, then the Prince of Wales, was "giddily elated - like a lottery winner" when he spoke to him immediately after Diana's death in 1997, according to an excerpt of the book published Thursday by the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
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he → allege → Mail
In another excerpt, published Wednesday, Spencer alleges that during a disagreement over Diana's funeral arrangements, Charles told him, "rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."
asserted
we → publish → her
The excerpt prompted a rare reply on Wednesday from the palace, which typically does not comment on books or reports about members of the royal family.
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which → prompt → family
Even when Harry released his 2023 memoir, "Spare," which contained numerous claims about Charles, William and other members of the royal family, the palace remained publicly silent.
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palace → release → family
"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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss," the palace said in a statement to ABC News about Spencer's book.
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palace → comment → book
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36.
asserted
Diana → die → 36
One year prior, in 1996, Charles and Diana finalized their divorce after 15 years of marriage.
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Charles → finalize → marriage
The former couple shared two children, Princes William and Harry, neither of whom have commented on their uncle's book.
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neither → share → book
Harry ignored a question about the book shouted at him by reporters on Thursday while attending the Invictus Spirit Awards in London.
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Harry → ignore → London
Spencer, Diana's younger brother, memorably walked alongside William, Harry and Charles in the procession for Diana's funeral on Sept. 6, 1997.
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Spencer → walk → Sept.
His book -- scheduled for release on Sept. 22 -- is described as telling the story of Diana's life from his perspective as her brother.
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book → schedule → brother
In the book, Spencer alleges that Charles told Diana the night before their July 29, 1981, wedding that he "was happy to marry her, but was not actually in love with her," according to The Daily Mail.
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he → allege → Mail
Reflecting on what he remembers as Charles' "giddily elated" reaction to Diana's death, Spencer writes in the book about the couple's "bitter divorce."
"Looking back now, 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, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not," Spencer writes.
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Spencer → reflect → one
"It can be hard to feel too much sympathy for an ex-spouse, or those who care for them profoundly, after bitter divorce.
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who → feel → divorce
Charles would go onto marry his current wife, Queen Camilla, in 2005.
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Charles → go → 2005
The pair first had a brief dalliance in the 1970s, and began an affair in 1986 while Charles was married to Diana, according to Charles' authorized biography.
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Charles → have → biography
The palace has not commented on the additional book excerpts published Thursday by the Daily Mail.
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palace → comment → Mail
ABC News has reached out to Spencer's publisher, Penguin Random House, for comment.
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News → reach → comment
In addition to Spencer and her sons, Diana is survived by her older sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
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Diana → survive → sisters
The Aporia
