Earl Spencer accuses King of 'gaslighting' over Diana funeral claim
Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, has accused His Majesty King Charles III of “gaslighting” him after Buckingham Palace disputed his account of a private conversation held after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The argument centres on Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, described the alleged exchange in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg. His account was then challenged by the Palace, prompting his latest response, as reported by Hello! Magazine.
In the book, Spencer claims the then Prince of Wales told him “We’ll forget her soon enough” during a difficult disagreement about the funeral. He says the point at issue was whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin. Earl Spencer alleges the remark, referring to Diana, was made days after she died, as captured in BBC reporting on the claim BBC.
Buckingham Palace does not, as a rule, discuss books about the Royal Family.
A spokesman 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.”
The wording matters. The statement avoids repeating the alleged remark. It talks instead about grief, reason, judgment and memory.
Spencer rejected that framing.
He called the Palace response “astonishingly provocative and below the belt”. He told the Mail on Sunday: “It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the King.”
Princess Diana died in 1997, as recorded by the BBC.
Gaslighting, in everyday use, means making someone question their own memory of events. Spencer uses the word to reject the suggestion that his memory is clouded.
A memoir is the author’s own account. It carries weight because it is first-hand. It also carries limits for the same reason.
What makes this stand out is the directness on both sides. Palaces usually stay silent on memoirs. Spencer usually guards family detail. Here both have spoken in quoted words.
For readers new to the story, the key names are simple. Earl Spencer is Diana’s brother. The then Prince of Wales is now the King. William and Harry are Diana’s sons.
Both versions rest on private memory. No contemporaneous note, transcript or recording has been put into the public record. The file, for now, contains a claim about five words and a Palace reply about grief and memory.
