Earl Spencer memoir prompts Palace statement as royals continue engagements
A memoir by Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer, has prompted a statement from Buckingham Palace about the period after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The book is titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, according to HELLO!. Earl Spencer is Diana's brother. He writes as a brother, not as a member of the Royal Household.
Earl Spencer writes that the then Prince of Wales said immediately after Diana's death: "We'll forget her soon enough." He also writes that Charles subjected him to a "stream of anger", as reported by the BBC. The Palace has not accepted that account.
Buckingham Palace stated: "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." Earl Spencer did not warn Buckingham Palace about the contents before publication, according to Yahoo.
Earl Spencer also argues that Diana would not have wanted her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to take part in her funeral procession, as reported by CNN. He writes that Diana contemplated ending her life but carried on for William and Harry, according to Yahoo. Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36, as recorded by AP News.
Neither Prince William nor Prince Harry had prior knowledge of the contents of Earl Spencer's book, according to HELLO!. That detail matters. It separates the published claims from the two sons most closely connected to them.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, visited the Isle of Bute on 17 September 2026 for official engagements. In Scotland they are known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, the Scottish titles used by the heir to the throne and his wife. During the visit they joined a beach clean at Ettrick Bay, tried shinty, and visited a local pub.
Prince Harry attended the Invictus Spirit Awards at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich solo, without Meghan. HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash joined the Prince and Princess of Wales on their Isle of Bute engagements.
What sets this sequence apart is the form. A published memoir. An on-the-record Palace statement. Separate diaried engagements carried out as the claims circulated.
