Earl Spencer’s claims about King Charles after Princess Diana’s death challenged by former royal aide

Claims made by Earl Spencer about King Charles’s reaction to Princess Diana’s death have been challenged by a former communications secretary who worked closely with Charles during the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death.

In his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Diana’s brother revisits the days surrounding her death in 1997 and describes a series of conversations he says he had with the then-Prince of Wales. Among his most striking allegations is that Charles told him, “we’ll forget her soon enough,” while discussing the aftermath of Diana’s death.

Spencer also claims that Charles sounded “giddily elated, like a lottery winner” during one of their conversations.

The allegations have prompted an unusually direct response from Buckingham Palace, while former members of Charles’s staff have offered a very different account of his attitude towards Diana and her memory.

Earl Spencer’s account of Charles after Diana’s death

Princess Diana, the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, shortly after her divorce from Charles had been finalised.

Nearly three decades later, Earl Spencer has revisited the events surrounding her death in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Extracts from the book have been serialised in the Daily Mail ahead of its publication.

According to Spencer’s account, Charles made the alleged “we’ll forget her soon enough” remark during discussions about Diana’s funeral and the role of her two sons.

At the time, William was 15 and Harry was 12. Spencer says he objected to the boys walking behind their mother’s coffin because he believed Diana would not have wanted them to endure such a public ordeal.

The dispute, according to Spencer, led to what he describes as a “stream of anger” from Charles.

Spencer has also described another conversation with the then-Prince of Wales on the night Diana died. He wrote that Charles sounded “giddily elated, like a lottery winner”, an account that has been strongly disputed by people who worked with the royal family at the time.

Former Charles aide recalls a different approach

Julian Payne, who served as Charles’s communications secretary when he was Prince of Wales, has rejected the picture of Charles presented in Spencer’s memoir.

Payne worked with Charles around the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2017. That year brought renewed public attention to Diana, with extensive media coverage and tributes marking two decades since her death.

Payne said Charles was particularly clear that Diana’s memory should be treated with respect.

He recalled that there was to be no criticism or pushback against narratives about Charles, even when those accounts were highly critical of him. Payne said the instruction was specifically intended to ensure that Diana’s memory was not undermined.

In his recollection, Charles was “absolutely emphatic” that his former wife’s memory should be respected.

Payne’s account has been cited as evidence by Charles’s former staff that the portrayal of the King in Spencer’s book does not match the way they remember his attitude towards Diana.

Buckingham Palace issues rare response

The allegations also prompted an unusual statement from Buckingham Palace.

The Palace generally does not comment on books about members of the Royal Family. In this case, however, a spokesperson addressed the claims by pointing to the potential effect of grief on memory and judgment.

The statement said:

“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.”

The statement did not provide a point-by-point response to Spencer’s allegations. Instead, it questioned the reliability of memories formed during an intensely traumatic period and retained for many years.

Spencer has since stood by his recollection, saying he is telling the truth about what he remembers from the period following his sister’s death.

Dickie Arbiter disputes Spencer’s version

Dickie Arbiter, who was Queen Elizabeth II’s press secretary at the time of Diana’s death and funeral, has also rejected the account presented by Spencer.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Arbiter described the suggestion that Charles was “giddily elated” as “hogwash”.

He said Charles was “devastated at the time” and argued that the alleged behaviour was inconsistent with his character.

Arbiter’s comments provide another account from someone who was working within the Royal Household during the events described in Spencer’s memoir.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond has likewise questioned Spencer’s recollection. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she described the account as “extraordinary” and “vindictive”, while also acknowledging that memories of a conversation can differ and that there can be “two sides” to such an exchange.

The dispute over William and Harry’s role in Diana’s funeral

One of the most sensitive parts of Spencer’s account concerns the decision to have William and Harry walk behind their mother’s coffin during her funeral procession on September 6, 1997.

Spencer says he objected because he believed Diana would not have wanted her sons to face such an ordeal.

The issue has remained a difficult part of Harry’s memories of his mother’s funeral. Speaking to the BBC in 2017, he said that walking behind Diana’s coffin at the age of 12 was something no child “should be asked to do”.

At the same time, Harry said he did not have an opinion on whether the decision was right or wrong. Looking back, he said he was glad to have taken part in the day.

Harry also spoke about how his father handled the immediate aftermath of Diana’s death.

He acknowledged the difficulty of a parent having to tell children that their other parent has died, and said that Charles was there for him and William during that period.

Spencer’s memoir presents a markedly different recollection of Charles’s conduct, particularly during discussions about Diana’s funeral. The competing accounts have now placed memories from the events of 1997 at the centre of renewed attention nearly 29 years after Diana’s death.

A long-running dispute revisited

The publication of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister has reopened questions about how the Royal Family dealt with Diana’s death and the immediate aftermath.

Spencer’s account is based on his own recollections of conversations and events surrounding his sister’s death. Charles’s former staff and Buckingham Palace have disputed the portrayal, while Spencer has maintained that his version is accurate.

The disagreement therefore rests on sharply different recollections of a traumatic period in the Royal Family’s history.

With the memoir due to be published on September 22, 2026, further details of Spencer’s account are expected to receive attention as the book becomes available.