Buckingham Palace responds to Charles Spencer’s claim that King Charles said Diana would be forgotten

Buckingham Palace has issued an unusually pointed response to a claim by Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, that King Charles III told him they would soon forget Diana after her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

The claim appears in Spencer’s forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is due to be published next week. An extract published by the Daily Mail recounts a heated telephone conversation between Spencer and the then-Prince Charles in the days following Diana’s death.

Also Read: Princess Diana’s final hours: What happened in Paris before the crash that claimed her life


“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said late Wednesday.

“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.”

The Palace did not directly address Spencer’s account, but its reference to the effects of grief on memory amounted to a rare response to a claim concerning the King’s conduct nearly three decades ago. Reuters reported that the comments came during a dispute over whether Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, should walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.

Dispute over Diana’s funeral

Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, writes that he objected to William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12 respectively, taking part in the funeral procession because he believed Diana would not have wanted her young sons to endure the ordeal.

According to the extract, Spencer says Charles responded with what he described as a “stream of anger”.

“He 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!’,” Spencer writes.

The account has not been independently verified. The Palace's statement does not confirm or deny that the remark was made. Reuters reported that Spencer's memoir is intended to present Diana's story from her brother's perspective.

Diana died aged 36 on August 31, 1997, when the car carrying her and Dodi al-Fayed crashed in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi photographers.

Her death triggered an enormous public outpouring of grief in Britain and renewed scrutiny of the royal family's response. Diana and Charles had divorced in 1996, after years of marital difficulties.

A royal family under scrutiny

The decision for William and Harry to walk behind their mother's coffin became one of the most closely scrutinised aspects of Diana's funeral. The two princes ultimately joined the procession, walking alongside their father, their grandfather Prince Philip and their uncle Spencer.

Spencer's memoir revisits that period and is expected to offer his account of the events surrounding Diana's death and its aftermath.

The Palace's wording has drawn comparisons in British media with a statement issued by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 after Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they made allegations including that a member of the royal family had expressed concerns about the colour of their son Archie's skin.

The Queen said at the time that the issues raised were “concerning”, while adding that “some recollections may vary”.

Spencer's memoir is scheduled for publication next week, with extracts being serialised ahead of its release. The book revisits Diana's life and the events surrounding her death from the perspective of her brother.