Earl Spencer has made several new bombshell claims in his book coming out on September 22.
King Charles set for third day of controversy after book release
Earl Spencer’s new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail ahead of its publication on September 22, makes several explosive claims about Princess Diana’s marriage to King Charles, her relationship with the Royal Family, and the events surrounding her death. In a first extract released on Wednesday, Princess Diana’s brother alleged Charles told him “we’ll forget her soon enough” after Diana’s death in 1997. He said that Charles’ comments came during an angry phone conversation over Diana’s funeral arrangements, with the Earl reportedly telling Charles that his late sister would not have wanted her sons to endure such a public ordeal.
Earl Spencer wrote in the book: “He [Charles] unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’.”
In another excerpt released on Thursday, Earl Spencer also claimed Charles acted “like a lottery winner” following the death of his sister. In the extract, which was by the Daily Mail, the Earl wrote: “The phone rang constantly. Prince [King] Charles caught me as I crossed the landing upstairs. Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time.”
Earl Spencer’s book is coming out on Tuesday (Image: Getty)
Buckingham Palace has pushed back at the claims made in the book (Image: Getty)
Another bombshell claim made by the Earl in his upcoming book is that the late Queen offered to restore Diana’s royal title on the day of her funeral.
Diana lost the ‘HRH’ title in 1996, when she and King Charles divorced after 15 years of marriage.
Diana’s brother said he was told of the offer by Robert Fellowes, the Queen’s Private Secretary as they travelled by Royal Train to Diana’s private burial at Althorp, the Daily Mail reports.
In the memoir, Earl Spencer wrote that he had been “dreadfully hurt” by the “petty and vindictive” removal of her HRH title and that despite the Queen’s “well-meaning” gesture, he decided to reject what he described as a “consolation prize.”
He wrote: “I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award.
“That’s very kind of the Queen, of course. But what’s the point, Robert? Now? I mean – Diana’s dead.”
In an ‘unprecedented’ move, Buckingham Palace has hit back at the explosive claims made by Earl Spencer.
The statement reads: “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.”
Princess Diana died in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris on August 31, 1997. Her funeral was held six days later at Westminster Abbey. The funeral service for Diana, Princess of Wales on September 6, 1997, was watched on live television by 32.1 million people.