Prince Harry’s alleged role in Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir sparks fresh controversy

A heated television discussion has put Prince Harry’s relationship with his uncle Earl Spencer’s new memoir under renewed scrutiny, after commentators suggested the Duke of Sussex could benefit financially from continued public interest in Princess Diana.

The claims were made on TalkTV following the publication of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Earl Spencer’s memoir about his late sister. The book, released on September 22, 2026, has already become the subject of a separate dispute involving broadcaster Piers Morgan and an admitted factual error concerning photographs of Diana.

Commentators question Harry’s connection to the book

Speaking on Plank of the Week, commentator Kevin O’Sullivan claimed that Harry had been involved in Spencer’s memoir and suggested that the Sussexes’ return to Britain had been timed to coincide with its publication.

O’Sullivan also alleged that Harry could be preparing to benefit from renewed interest in his mother, Princess Diana, through a documentary.

Those remarks were presented as commentary rather than established fact. In a later interview on CBS Mornings, however, Earl Spencer said Harry had not been involved in creating the memoir and had only learned about the book shortly before its public release. Spencer said that Harry asked whether there was anything in it that might embarrass him and that he was “completely fine” with the contents.

That later account directly conflicts with the speculation aired by O’Sullivan, making the distinction between allegation and confirmed information particularly important.

Candice Holdsworth points to a lucrative royal-media cycle

Fellow commentator Candice Holdsworth argued that the continuing focus on disagreements within the Royal Family had created a potentially lucrative model for public figures connected to the monarchy.

She said the situation appeared to be “never-ending” and questioned Spencer’s reputation as a historian after the factual mistake involving Piers Morgan.

Holdsworth also suggested that Harry and Meghan had recognised the commercial value of being openly adversarial towards the Royal Family.

She went on to say that, based on what she had heard, sales of Spencer’s memoir had been relatively modest.

O’Sullivan responded by pointing out that Waterstones had quickly reduced the book to half price.

Spencer’s apology to Piers Morgan

The television discussion came as Spencer faced mounting criticism over an error in Swan Song involving Piers Morgan.

In the memoir, Spencer described a conversation in which he told Morgan that he was not welcome at Diana’s funeral. Spencer wrote that Morgan had been surly and annoyed during the exchange.

He also connected Morgan to the publication of invasive photographs showing Diana exercising in a leotard at a gym in 1993.

That part of the account was factually incorrect. The photographs were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993, while Morgan did not join the Daily Mirror until October 1995. At the time the photographs appeared, Morgan was working for the Sun. He later became editor of the Daily Mirror, a position he held from 1995 to 2004.

Spencer subsequently apologised for the mistake.

A representative for the Earl said his account of the conversation with Morgan remained accurate, but acknowledged that Spencer had made an incorrect assumption about Morgan’s role in the publication of the photographs.

The statement added that accuracy was important to Spencer as a historian and that he therefore wanted to clarify the error and apologise to Morgan.

Morgan accepted that Spencer had apologised but said he intended to continue with legal action. He has argued that the incorrect account was serious enough to warrant removing the disputed material from the book.

Morgan calls for the book to be corrected

Morgan has maintained that Spencer should remove the offending material from copies of Swan Song.

Speaking to the BBC, Morgan argued that if the memoir was intended as a historical record, there was a clear reason to remove material that had now been acknowledged as untrue. The BBC reported that Penguin Random House was expected to amend the relevant passage in future editions.

Morgan has also questioned other parts of Spencer’s memoir, including the Earl’s recollections of conversations surrounding Diana’s death.

Spencer has stood by his recollection of his conversation with Morgan despite apologising for the separate factual error concerning the 1993 photographs.

A memoir that has reopened old royal tensions

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister revisits Spencer’s memories of his sister and her life within the Royal Family. It also contains disputed recollections concerning King Charles and the aftermath of Diana’s death.

Among the book’s claims is Spencer’s recollection that Charles sounded “giddily elated” when they spoke following Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. Spencer also claimed that Charles said, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

Buckingham Palace has disputed Spencer’s recollection, pointing to the effects that intense grief can have on memory and judgement. Spencer has continued to stand by his account.

The controversy surrounding the memoir has therefore extended well beyond its claims about Princess Diana. Questions over the accuracy of individual passages, Morgan’s threatened legal action and the competing accounts of events surrounding Diana’s death have all drawn attention to Spencer’s book.

As for Prince Harry, the strongest claim made during the television discussion was that he had helped with the memoir and that his return to Britain was connected to its release. Spencer’s subsequent public account, however, says the opposite: Harry was not involved in producing the book and learned about it only shortly before publication.

That distinction leaves Harry’s alleged involvement as a point of commentary and speculation rather than an established fact.