Earl Spencer Repeats Claim About King Charles Call After Diana's Death
Earl Spencer has repeated his claim that King Charles said "rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough" days after Diana's death. Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Spencer said "those are exactly the words he said." The Guardian
Spencer says the remark came during a heated argument over funeral arrangements. He said the disputed call was one of two he has had with Charles in his lifetime. In his account, the argument was about whether Diana's sons should walk in the funeral procession. Spencer says he told Charles that Diana would not have wanted her sons Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, to take part.
Spencer said he told friends and family at the time about the alleged comment "because it was so monstrous." He has also said Charles sounded "giddily elated" after Diana's death. The remarks were reported on 18 September 2026, in connection with extracts from Spencer's memoir.
Buckingham Palace responded by suggesting Spencer misremembered. Its statement said "the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise." The Palace did not offer a different transcript of the call. It put the dispute down to grief and memory.
Spencer's memoir is titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister and is being serialised in the Daily Mail, meaning published in short parts. In one extract, Spencer writes that Charles was "polite and formal" on the day of Diana's funeral. That description sits beside the allegation about the earlier phone call. The memoir also says Diana told a friend on the eve of her wedding that Charles said he was happy to marry her but was not actually in love with her.
Princess Diana died in 1997. She was 36 years old when she died.
The broader context here is a common problem for hereditary institutions. Private talks later become public history, and there is rarely a neutral record to settle them. Readers are left with two different accounts, both based on personal memory rather than documents. Spencer has pointed to telling friends and family at the time. The Palace has answered with language about grief and memory, without a detailed rebuttal.
Looking ahead to the next few weeks, much will depend on the full memoir text and whether more material from the time is quoted. Serialisation favours short, sharp extracts. Full publication allows closer checking of order, sourcing and consistency. The Palace response points to containment rather than extended exchange. That leaves an allegation firmly restated, and a denial framed as a question of memory.
