Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer publishes explosive new memoir about royal family

Nearly three decades after Princess Diana's death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, her younger brother Charles Spencer has released a new memoir titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Published on Tuesday, September 22, the book looks back at Diana's life from the perspective of her brother, who delivered the eulogy at her 1997 funeral.

Buckingham Palace Response

The book has drawn a sharp response from Buckingham Palace. A statement from the Palace said King Charles was mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment, and colour memory years after a loss. Spencer has rejected claims that his recollections are unreliable, insisting he is telling the truth.

Funeral Arguments

One of the most serious claims involves a phone call between Spencer and the then-Prince Charles before the funeral. Spencer objected to Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, walking behind their mother's coffin. According to Spencer, Charles grew angry and criticized the Spencer family's sense of duty, allegedly saying, "We'll forget her soon enough." Spencer also claims that when he spoke to Charles shortly after Diana's death, Charles sounded giddily elated like a lottery winner, though Spencer later acknowledged this was his own interpretation of the tone.

Marriage Revelations

The memoir also revisits the lead-up to the royal wedding on July 29, 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral. Spencer writes that Diana told their father shortly before the wedding that she could not marry a man who did not love her, recalling that Charles had told her he was happy to marry her but not actually in love. The book details Diana's mental struggles as well, noting that she once drove herself to Beachy Head while contemplating ending her life, but stopped because of her love for her sons. Spencer also writes that Robert Fellowes, Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, told him after the funeral that the Queen wanted to offer Diana her HRH title back posthumously.