In response to the claims that Earl Spencer is making in his forthcoming memoir regarding his sister, Princess Diana, Buckingham Palace has published a rare and strongly worded statement, thereby sparking a public exchange of criticism at a time when the Royal Family has a full day of engagements scheduled. The disagreement arises out of the assertion that the then-Prince of Wales had told Spencer a few days after Diana’s death in 1997 that “we’ll forget her soon enough” a comment which the Palace maintains is entirely inconsistent with his usual behaviour and is probably the result of grief.
The Claim: A Heated Call About the Funeral Procession
In the extracts from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which were published before the book’s 22nd September release, Earl Spencer speaks of a heated telephone conversation he had with Prince Charles regarding whether the young princes William and Harry should take part in the funeral procession of their mother. He states that after a “stream of anger” Charles stopped speaking and then hissed, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Spencer presents the remark as showing Charles’s “long-suppressed contempt for Diana” and his disappointment at the worldwide expression of sorrow; he states that he had insisted Diana would not have wanted the boys, who were then 15 and 12, to take part, and that the disagreement arose rapidly.
Palace Pushback: “Grief Can Cloud Reason, Affect Judgment and Colour Memory”
Buckingham Palace departed from its normal policy of not commenting on books by issuing a statement which didn’t amount to a plain denial but did cast serious doubt on the accusation. “Although we generally do not comment on books for principle’s sake, His Majesty is aware that the sorrow caused by the loss of a brother can impair reason, influence judgment and cause memories to be distorted in a way that others may not realise, even many years after the loss,” the Palace stated.
The way it has phrased things mirrors the Palace’s 2021 reply to the racism claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (“recollections may vary”) and shows how strongly feelings run within the institution. Julian Payne, who used to be the monarch’s communications secretary, told the BBC that the alleged remarks were “not language that I recognise”, stressing that the “highly unusual” statement was evidence of how firmly the Palace wanted to set the record straight.
Why This Matters: Old Wounds, New Headlines
The death of Diana led to a highly tense atmosphere during which the Royal Family was criticised for being cold and out of touch. The defiant speech given by Earl Spencer increased this feeling of resentment, and his new book will offer an insider’s view from the Spencer side of the affair. This most recent allegation risks reopening hurt memories at a sensitive time since the King, Prince William and Catherine are taking part in a number of events, while Prince Harry is making his first major appearance since coming back to the UK.
The situation is important for the Palace since the accusation damages Charles’s character by suggesting that he was callous at a time when the family was experiencing great loss and could thus interfere with his carefully arranged public responsibilities. For Spencer, the memoir is intended as a response to the established accounts, giving his version of the decisions taken in the immediate period after Diana’s death.
What’s in the Book and What’s Still Unknown
Swan Song: Diana, my sister, is due to be published next week by Penguin Michael Joseph. Apart from the statement that people will soon enough forget her, the excerpts that have been published deal with the controversy over the funeral procession and Spencer’s belief that Charles was angered by the way the world reacted to Diana’s death. The Palace has not given a detailed response point by point, and the full details of the book’s version of events will only come to light as further excerpts are released and reviews are published.
The BBC has stated that it has not yet seen the entire memoir, and other media outlets are holding off until further serialized sections have been published. As the story progresses, there will be ongoing examination of the specific claim as well as the wider accounts that each side gives of that traumatic week in 1997.
The Bigger Picture: Memory, Grief and Public Narrative
At its heart, the dispute centres on the way that history will remember Diana and on who is allowed to determine that narrative. The Palace’s statement describes Spencer’s version as possibly warped by “fraternal grief”, whereas Spencer presents his account as genuine truth-telling coming from inside the family. Since Diana’s legacy is still very much felt almost thirty years later, the argument is likely to lead once again to discussions regarding the Royal Family’s actions in 1997, the pressures placed on William and Harry, and the continuing influence of Diana’s story in British public life.
At this stage, the statement issued by Buckingham Palace is clear in the sense that it will not allow the most serious allegations to go unanswered, even if that involves entering a public debate which is something it would usually avoid.
