Charles Spencer’s new book about his sister, Princess Diana, has sparked widespread attention in Britain even before its official release.
In the highly anticipated memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer makes a series of serious claims about King Charles III’s treatment of Diana during their marriage and in the days following her death.
Excerpts published ahead of the book’s release focus heavily on Charles’ alleged behavior, including what he reportedly told Diana shortly before their wedding and his interactions with Spencer in the aftermath of her death.
Buckingham Palace has responded to some of the claims, saying it recognizes that “grief can cloud judgment and memories.”
“He Sounded Astonishingly Upbeat”
Spencer recalls receiving a phone call from the then-Prince Charles shortly after the 1997 car crash that killed Diana.
According to Spencer, Charles’ tone struck him as unusually businesslike compared with others who had called in shock to express their condolences.
“Unlike the other people who rang me in shock, barely able to express their condolences and offer help, he sounded astonishingly upbeat — like a lottery winner, I thought at the time,” Spencer writes.
Looking back, Spencer claims he came to believe that Charles’ initial reaction may have been influenced by the possibility that he would eventually be free to marry the woman he loved.
Disagreement Over Diana’s Funeral
Spencer also describes a heated disagreement over whether Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, should walk behind their mother’s coffin.
He says he opposed the idea because he believed Diana would never have wanted her sons placed in that position.
According to Spencer, Charles responded by pointing out that he had walked in Lord Mountbatten’s funeral procession. Spencer replied that Charles had been around 30 at the time and that Mountbatten was not his mother.
Spencer claims the disagreement escalated, with Charles accusing his family of having “no sense of duty.”
Diana’s Private Struggles
Among the book’s most personal claims are details about Diana’s mental health.
Spencer writes that during the later years of her life, Diana drove several times to the cliffs at Beachy Head in East Sussex while experiencing suicidal thoughts. According to his account, her love for her sons ultimately stopped her from acting on them.
Spencer also discusses Queen Elizabeth II’s reported proposal to restore Diana’s Her Royal Highness title after her death. He describes the gesture as a “consolation prize,” arguing that Diana had been deeply hurt when the title was removed and that restoring it posthumously would have had little meaning.
The memoir also revisits Diana and Charles’ royal wedding in July 1981.
Spencer says he learned only years later that, one day before their wedding, Charles allegedly told Diana that while he was happy to be marrying her, he did not truly love her.
The claims are Spencer’s account of private events and conversations and have prompted renewed debate over one of the most closely scrutinized relationships in modern royal history.
