New Princess Diana book 'not about settling scores
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book → settle → scores
,' says her brother, Charles Spencer
Book claims then-Prince Charles was 'giddily elated' in phone call after Diana died
Charles Spencer says his new book about his sister, the late Princess Diana, is not an attempt to get revenge on his former in-laws, the British Royal family.
"It's not about settling scores," Spencer, a historian, journalist and the 9th Earl Spencer, told CBC Radio's The Current.
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Spencer → say → Current
"I could have written something much more devastating," he said.
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he → write → something
"This was the considered version that I thought, 'Yeah, whatever's in here, needs to be in, to give the full story of Diana's life."
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's → think → life
The book, Swan Song: Diana, my sister, has prompted a barrage of international headlines over its claims, including that the then-Prince Charles sounded "giddily elated" when Diana died.
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Diana → prompt → claims
But Spencer said he wrote it in part because he's been inundated with interview requests ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death next year.
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he → say → death
"I began to think, 'Well, if everyone wants to know the truth, I think it's time for that,' " he said.
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he → begin → that
Spencer sat down with The Current's Matt Galloway to discuss the book, and his sister's legacy.
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Spencer → sit → book
Charles 'upbeat' in call after Diana's death
Diana was arguably the most famous woman in the world after she married Charles in 1981, and gave birth to two sons, William and Harry.
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she → marry → sons
But after a tumultuous marriage, the royal couple separated in 1992, finalizing their divorce in 1996.
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couple → separate → 1996
After leaving the Royal Family, she became a style icon and philanthropist, leading campaigns to clear landmines and challenge stigma around HIV and AIDS.
But she increasingly strained under the glare of the tabloid media and died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, after a high-speed chase while being pursued by paparazzi.
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she → leave → paparazzi
In the book, Spencer claims that Charles sounded "giddily elated" in a phone call after Diana died.
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Diana → claim → call
Spencer said he'd already received calls from many people wishing to express their shock and offer their condolences.
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he → say → condolences
"He just sounded completely different to everyone else … sort of buoyant … upbeat," he said.
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he → sound → everyone
Spencer also wrote that he argued with Charles in the days following Diana's death, over palace plans for Princes William and Harry to walk behind their mother's coffin in the funeral cortege.
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William → write → cortege
Spencer said he told Charles it would be an ordeal Diana would not have wanted her sons to endure.
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sons → say → Charles
"He went nuts and started screaming and shouting," Spencer said.
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Spencer → go → ?
"And then he pulled himself together, I thought — and then, he said, 'We'll forget her soon enough.'
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We → pull → her
"
"I was stunned. And I went, 'I can't believe you just said that,' and hung up on him."
Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations earlier this month.
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Palace → stun → allegations
"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 recognize, even many years after such a loss," the palace said in a statement.
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palace → comment → statement
Spencer described the statement as "classic gaslighting."
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Spencer → describe → gaslighting
"They're trying to say maybe it's grief, maybe it was a long time ago, but they're trying to put a question mark over my reliability.
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they → try → reliability
It's a tactic, but I don't think it's worked for them.
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it → think → them
"
Funeral procession was 'exhausting emotionally'
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procession → exhaust → ?
Princes William and Harry did walk behind their mother's coffin, alongside Spencer and other family members — with thousands of people thronged on either side of their route.
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thousands → walk → route
In the book, Spencer describes it as walking through a tunnel of grief, where the reactions of the crowd kept shifting.
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reactions → describe → crowd
"We could walk for 100 metres and it would be silent, you could just hear sobs.
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you → walk → sobs
And then [further on], people wailing, like it's a biblical thing, a sort of wailing and gnashing of teeth," he told Galloway, adding that some people screamed out their love for Diana and for her two sons.
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people → wail → sons
"For over half an hour, we were just walking with this crashing in from all sides," he said, describing it as emotionally exhausting.
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he → walk → it
Some solace came from the late Prince Philip, the late Queen Elizabeth's husband.
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solace → come → Philip
"He was very much there for his grandsons, and he took control of it," Spencer said.
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Spencer → take → it
"He said to the other four of us, the most important thing is to just keep looking ahead."
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thing → say → us
Spencer hid eulogy from palace
Diana's funeral took place at Westminster Abbey on Sept. 6, 1997.
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funeral → hide → Sept.
Spencer delivered a eulogy that spoke of her talents, while also delivering sharp criticism of the press and paparazzi.
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that → deliver → press
But at a rehearsal the day before the funeral, he was asked to read his speech for a microphone check in the Abbey.
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he → ask → Abbey
As he climbed the steps to the lectern, "a handful of people, not that many, appeared out of the shadows," he said.
"
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he → climb → shadows
An alarm went in my brain thinking, 'Hey, this is odd.'
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this → go → brain
And then in that moment I realized they were probably listening … that they were gonna vet it and perhaps veto it," he told CBC.
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he → realize → CBC
So Spencer said he'd forgotten the speech at home, and instead started to read from a prayer book.
"
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he → say → book
I'd hardly read a word when they went, 'That's OK.'
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That → read → word
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
