Earl Spencer has reaffirmed his claim that King Charles III once said about Princess Diana, "rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough," days after her death in 1997. Buckingham Palace disputed Spencer’s account, suggesting that grief can distort memory, but Spencer stood firm on the truth of his recollection during an interview with BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. The article centers on the tension between Earl Spencer and the royal family over conflicting narratives surrounding Diana's funeral arrangements and the emotional fallout from her death.
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
Experts suggest that Earl Spencer felt a duty to write his memoir about Diana's life. In the book, he makes explosive claims against King Charles, alleging that shortly after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, then-Prince Charles said "we’ll forget her soon enough." This prompted Buckingham Palace to issue a statement saying His Majesty is mindful that fraternal grief can cloud judgment and reason.
Spencer accused the king of gaslighting him when the palace responded by questioning his recollections. He called the palace's defense a "rather poor imitation" of how Queen Elizabeth II handled similar allegations from Prince Harry in their Oprah interview.
The book also includes details about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements where King Charles reportedly went ballistic, criticizing Spencer's family for not fulfilling their duties adequately enough. Buckingham Palace did not comment on the specifics of these claims but suggested that grief could affect memory accuracy over time.
Earl Spencer told BBC he wanted to put down truths before it was too late due to his awareness of mortality. He added that there are other facts about King Charles he chose not to include in the book, deeming them irrelevant.
Written for “Diana Controversies Royal Family” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 92 other(s) covering the same event.
Earl Spencer has doubled down on his bombshell claim that King Charles said of Diana, Princess of Wales, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her death, saying he is telling the truth.
uncertain
he → double → truth
The alleged comments, revealed in Charles Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, prompted Buckingham Palace to issue an extraordinary statement suggesting Diana’s brother had misremembered events, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.
asserted
others → allege → ways
In an interview with the BBC, Diana’s brother stood firm in his recollection, telling Laura Kuenssberg: “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.”
asserted
he → stand → you
Responding to the palace’s statement, Spencer said: “Well, is he furious?
asserted
he → respond → statement
When asked about the inference that his memory was coloured, Spencer said: “They’ve sort of smudged that one, haven’t they?
asserted
they → ask → one
They’ve said that recollections may vary.”
uncertain
recollections → say → ?
Spencer said the call was one of two he had with Charles in his lifetime and claims he told his friends and family members at the time about the comments “because it was so monstrous”.
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it → say → comments
On Wednesday, an extract from the memoir made the bombshell claim that Charles told Spencer days after Diana’s death that “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.
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we → make → her
The comments by the then prince were allegedly made during a heated argument over funeral arrangements.
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comments → make → arrangements
Spencer says the alleged comments reflected “his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death”, the Daily Mail reported.
asserted
Mail → say → death
Among other claims in the book are that Diana told a friend on the eve of her wedding to Charles that he said he was happy to marry her, but was not actually in love with her.
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he → tell → her
On Friday, the second extract from the memoir was published.
asserted
extract → publish → memoir
Spencer writes Charles was “polite and formal” on the day of Diana’s funeral and says Prince Philip told him to look ahead while walking in unison alongside his nephews and former brother-in-law.
asserted
Philip → write → law
“It was hellish, entering that tunnel of grief, particularly because we were unable to put a face to it by looking at the individuals in the crowd,” said Spencer of the procession.
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Spencer → enter → procession
In the extract released on Wednesday, Spencer also claims he insisted to Charles that Diana would not have wanted her sons, Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, to walk in their mother’s funeral procession.
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sons → release → procession
In the end, her sons walked behind her coffin, which William later called “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done”.
asserted
I → walk → things
Spencer wrote that when one of Queen Elizabeth’s most senior aides told him in the days before the funeral that William and Harry would take part in the procession, he responded: “That’s not going to happen,” the paper said.
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paper → write → procession
But minutes later he received a phone call from Charles, who insisted it should.
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it → receive → Charles
It was during the ensuing argument between the two men that Charles allegedly made the comment, with Spencer reportedly writing: “‘Rest assured,’” he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’”
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we → ensue → her
Spencer wrote that he was stunned by the alleged remark and took a few seconds to reply, writing: “‘I can’t believe you just said that,’ I said flatly, before hanging up.”
asserted
I → write → that
Swan Song is due to be published worldwide next Tuesday – in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph, a division of Penguin Random House.
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Song → publish → House
Four copies of the Dutch language edition were reportedly taken from a truck while it was en route from the Dutch publisher’s printers to their warehouse in the Netherlands.
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it → take → Netherlands
Diana, who died aged 36 after a car crash in Paris in 1997, would have turned 65 on 1 July this year.
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who → die → July
Buckingham Palace did not issue a fresh statement responding to the BBC interview, but on Wednesday a spokesperson said: “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.”
asserted
others → issue → loss
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