Piers Morgan escalates legal row with Earl Spencer over Diana memoir after publishing legal letters

Piers Morgan has escalated his dispute with Earl Spencer by publishing legal correspondence over claims made about him in Spencer’s controversial memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.

The latest development came after Spencer reportedly told an audience at a New York book event that Morgan was not suing him.

Morgan responded by making correspondence between his lawyers and the publisher’s legal representatives public, saying he wanted to correct what he described as Spencer’s latest false claim.

The dispute began when Spencer’s memoir was published on September 22, 2026. Within hours, Morgan had challenged passages about his role in the publication of intrusive photographs of Princess Diana and announced that he intended to take legal action.

Spencer later apologised for one factual error, but Morgan has maintained that the apology does not resolve the issue.

Morgan publishes correspondence after Spencer denies legal action

Morgan’s latest move followed a New York event where Spencer was asked about the dispute and, according to reports, denied that he was facing legal action from the broadcaster.

Morgan then released correspondence involving his lawyers, Schillings, and Wiggin, which was acting for the publisher.

In a post announcing the documents, Morgan said he had decided to publish the correspondence because Spencer had denied that legal action was being taken.

The letters show that Morgan’s lawyers demanded a retraction and apology, removal of the disputed material from future editions, corrections to existing stock, a commitment not to repeat the allegations, legal costs and damages to be paid to The King’s Trust.

Schillings described the statements in the book as false and defamatory and argued that the disputed material should no longer remain on sale.

The publisher’s lawyers rejected that position.

Wiggin said there was no basis for a viable defamation claim and said Spencer had already publicly acknowledged the factual error and apologised for it.

The publisher nevertheless confirmed that corrections would be made to future print editions, including the paperback, as well as the ebook and audiobook.

The error at the centre of the dispute

The main factual error concerns photographs of Diana exercising in a gym.

In Swan Song, Spencer suggested that Morgan was involved in the publication of intrusive photographs of Diana taken with hidden cameras and published by the Sunday Mirror in 1993.

Morgan has pointed out that he was working for The Sun at the time and did not join the Daily Mirror until October 1995.

The photographs were published on November 7, 1993, almost two years before Morgan became editor of the Daily Mirror.

Spencer subsequently acknowledged that his assumption about Morgan’s role was wrong and apologised.

His statement said that, as a historian, accuracy was important to him and that he wanted to clarify the error.

However, Spencer has continued to stand by his recollection of his telephone conversation with Morgan.

According to the book, Spencer contacted Morgan to tell him he would not be welcome at Diana’s funeral. Spencer described Morgan as “surly” and said he “snarled with annoyance” before ending the call.

Morgan strongly disputes that account, saying he was respectful during the conversation and was neither surly nor annoyed.

Morgan argues that the factual error about his position at the Daily Mirror raises broader questions about the accuracy of Spencer’s other recollections.

He has specifically questioned why readers should accept Spencer’s accounts of other private conversations when the book contains a basic error about Morgan’s employment history.

Spencer says the mistake will be corrected

Spencer has not withdrawn the memoir.

After apologising for the error involving Morgan, he said the passage would be corrected in a future edition.

During an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine on September 23, Spencer described the mistake as a small error and said it would be put right in the second edition. He continued to defend his account of the telephone conversation with Morgan.

The publisher has subsequently confirmed that the correction will extend beyond future print editions. The ebook and audiobook are also being amended.

The key disagreement now concerns what should happen to copies already on sale.

Morgan’s lawyers have demanded that the existing stock be withdrawn, while the publisher has rejected that request and maintained that correcting the acknowledged error in future editions is sufficient from its perspective.

Morgan also disputes Spencer’s account of Diana’s funeral

The disagreement is not limited to the photograph claim.

Spencer’s memoir says Morgan reacted angrily when he was told he would not attend Diana’s funeral.

Morgan has rejected that description and said the account of their conversation is misleading.

Spencer, however, has stood by his recollection of the call.

The distinction is important because Spencer’s apology addressed the factual assumption connecting Morgan to the 1993 photographs, rather than withdrawing his description of their telephone conversation.

That leaves the two men with sharply different accounts of what happened during the week before Diana’s funeral.

The book has also reignited controversy over King Charles

Morgan’s dispute with Spencer is unfolding alongside a much wider controversy over Swan Song.

The memoir contains Spencer’s account of conversations and events following Diana’s death in Paris in 1997.

Among the most contentious claims is Spencer’s description of a telephone conversation with King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, in which Spencer says Charles told him, “we’ll forget her soon enough.”

Spencer also describes Charles as sounding “giddily elated” after Diana’s death.

Buckingham Palace did not directly address individual claims but responded by saying that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways that others may not recognise.

Spencer has rejected the suggestion that grief affected his recollection and has continued to stand by his account.

He has also denied that the memoir was intended as a “hit piece” against King Charles, saying the material about the King was included in the context of Diana’s story.

Morgan says Diana would have opposed the attack on Charles

Morgan has gone beyond challenging the passages about himself.

He has argued that Diana would not have wanted what he regards as a fresh attack on King Charles, particularly given the circumstances facing her sons, Princes William and Harry.

Morgan has also questioned what William thinks about the material in the memoir, although there has been no public statement from the Prince of Wales confirming Morgan’s view.

Spencer, meanwhile, has insisted that his primary concern is telling his sister’s story and preserving what he believes to be an accurate historical record.

The disagreement over the book therefore involves two separate issues: the factual claims about Morgan himself and Spencer’s wider account of Diana, Charles and the aftermath of her death.

Where the legal dispute stands

For now, the dispute remains unresolved.

Morgan’s lawyers are seeking the removal of the disputed material, a public retraction and apology, changes to copies already in circulation, damages for The King’s Trust and legal costs.

The publisher’s lawyers have rejected the demand to withdraw existing copies and said they do not believe there is a viable defamation claim. At the same time, they have confirmed that the acknowledged factual error will be corrected in future print and digital editions.

Morgan has continued to say that an apology and future correction are not enough while copies containing the disputed material remain available.

The latest escalation therefore comes not from a new claim in Spencer’s memoir, but from the increasingly public legal battle over what should happen to the book already on sale.

As Swan Song: Diana, My Sister continues to draw attention, Spencer is standing by the central accounts in his memoir while Morgan continues to challenge passages concerning him and pursue the remedies sought by his legal team.

For now, neither side has indicated that the dispute is over.