Palace replies to Earl Spencer claim in Swan Song

Buckingham Palace has issued a formal reply to a claim about His Majesty King Charles III in the forthcoming memoir by Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer.

The reply centres on a telephone call in the early days of September 1997, after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Spencer says the call took place between him and Charles in the days of grief that followed.

The book is Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, a memoir due for publication in Britain on September 22. Extracts were serialised in the Daily Mail ahead of publication, according to reporting by Royal Central.

In the extracts, Earl Spencer — the brother of Diana — describes Charles becoming angry during that 1997 call. He claims Charles said “Diana will soon be forgotten.” Spencer also describes a row with Charles over arrangements for Diana’s funeral, as reported by the Express.

Buckingham Palace does not as a rule comment on books. On this occasion it issued the following statement in full:

“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 judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

The wording was issued by the Palace and attributes no direct account of the call itself. It speaks instead to grief and to memory. The Palace offered no further detail on the funeral arrangements described in the book.

Separately, the run-up to publication has included a police inquiry in the Netherlands. Four copies of Swan Song, each wrapped in black plastic, were taken from a lorry carrying editions from a publishing plant in central Europe while its driver slept in the countryside. Dutch police are investigating the theft of the four copies.

Spencer announced the memoir in August as a personal account of his sister’s life, according to Reuters. The Palace statement leaves the central dispute — what was said on that call in September 1997 — as one man’s published recollection answered by another’s reflection on grief.