Earl Spencer apologises to Piers Morgan over Diana memoir error as book goes on sale
Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer, has apologised to Piers Morgan for an error about him in his new memoir about his sister, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which went on sale on Tuesday 22 September.
Spencer, Princess Diana’s younger brother, said he was wrong to link Morgan to the publication of photographs of Diana taken with hidden cameras in 1993. The apology was reported by Hello! on the day of publication.
The disputed passage accused Morgan and his counterpart at the Sunday Mirror of publishing the pictures. The photographs showed Diana exercising in a leotard. They had been taken by a gym owner.
The date matters. Spencer’s apology acknowledged that Morgan did not join the Mirror until 1995, two years after the photographs appeared. In the book, Spencer wrote that he had been “flabbergasted” that newspaper editors including Morgan had been invited to Diana’s funeral.
Morgan has rejected the account in strong terms. He called the claims about him “bulls***” and accused the memoir of containing “fabricated inaccuracies” and “examples of brazen falsity”, according to RTÉ. He had threatened legal action against Spencer and the book’s publisher over what he said were lies about him.
The apology has not ended the dispute. After receiving it, Morgan said he would continue legal action against Spencer and Penguin. He wants the passage removed. He also wants damages paid to the King’s Trust, the King’s youth charity.
A second passage in the book concerns King Charles III. Spencer wrote that, ahead of Diana’s funeral, the then Prince of Wales told him “we’ll forget her soon enough”.
The Palace has questioned that account, according to Sky News. Spencer has said he left details about King Charles out of the book as its release neared.
For readers picking up the memoir, this means two separate arguments are running alongside publication. One is about a newspaper episode from the 1990s and who was responsible. The other is about a private conversation before a state occasion, and how it is remembered.
