That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
If you are struggling, help is available
- US and Canada · call or text 988
- UK and Ireland · Samaritans, 116 123
- Australia · Lifeline, 13 11 14
- Anywhere else ·
findahelpline.com
lists services by country
This article mentions suicide or self-harm. These services are free and
confidential, and they are not connected to this site.
In an interview with CBS News promoting his book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Charles Spencer claims that Prince Charles sounded "elated" immediately after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Buckingham Palace previously responded to initial allegations from the book by suggesting that grief could distort memory and judgment but has not addressed these latest claims yet. The article highlights the controversial nature of Spencer’s assertions and their potential impact on public perception of King Charles III and the royal family.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
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.
The brother of the late Princess Diana claims in his upcoming book that King Charles III, then Prince Charles, "sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner," right after his ex-wife died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
uncertain
wife → claim → 1997
It is the latest bombshell allegation to emerge from "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," the book by Charles Spencer, Diana's younger brother, set to hit shelves next week.
asserted
It → emerge → shelves
In an interview airing this weekend on "CBS Sunday Morning," Spencer explains his explosive allegation that a year after the royal couple's divorce, and with the nation in mourning just after Diana's death at the age of just 36, Charles seemed upbeat.
asserted
Charles → air → 36
"Obviously I'm not justifying or criticizing," he told CBS News.
asserted
he → justify → News
"I'm just reporting that's the fact."
asserted
that → report → ?
Spencer said he believed the then-Prince of Wales' attitude could have been due to him finally feeling free to pursue Camilla, who he later married, and who is now known as Queen Camilla.
uncertain
who → say → Camilla
"I said in the book that that might have been it, yeah," he told CBS News.
uncertain
he → say → News
Buckingham Palace pushed back earlier this week after the first allegation from Spencer's book emerged: a claim that Charles had told him days before Diana's funeral that "
."In a statement unusual in its force for the staid institution, the palace said that while the monarch wouldn't comment directly on a book, he "is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory, even many years after such a loss."
uncertain
pain → push → loss
CBS News royal contributor Royya Nikkhah said Thursday that the royal family was in for "a very tricky few days," predicting that Spencer's claims about what the king said after Diana died would be "just the beginning of a serialization that will go on … and we know there are going to be some pretty sensational claims."
"They will have to decide whether or not they're going about each and every claim, or just to make that first response we've heard from the palace their definitive response," said Nikkhah, who is the royal editor for The Sunday Times newspaper.
uncertain
who → say → newspaper
"But it's going to put them into fight mode, and it's going to be very difficult for the king.
asserted
it → go → king
"
Spencer also claims Charles told Diana he didn't love her before their fairy-tale wedding in 1981, and that Diana contemplated suicide more than once.
uncertain
Diana → claim → suicide
There has been no further response from Buckingham Palace to the latest claims from Spencer's book, excerpts of which are being published by the Daily Mail tabloid in Britain.
uncertain
excerpts → publish → Britain
The allegations from Charles Spencer are damaging for King Charles and the royal family, but speaking to people outside Buckingham Palace on Friday morning, CBS News found many who were sympathetic to the monarch.
asserted
who → damage → monarch
"I love the king, and I love the royal family," said one man.
asserted
man → love → family
A young man, walking with his mother, was less adamant, saying he wasn't "big on the king anyway," but adding that the entire episode, to him, seemed "a shame."
"I'm probably the other way," said his mother.
asserted
mother → walk → him
"I probably think it's totally unnecessary and it is just a story at the end of the day.
asserted
it → think → day
And people are going to believe what they want to believe.
asserted
they → go → what
But I don't know why it has to keep getting dragged up to be honest."
asserted
it → know → ?
With five days to go until Spencer's book is available, and more excerpts likely to be published in the interim, it is virtually guaranteed to be dragged up again, and soon.
asserted
it → go → interim
The Aporia
