Charles III questions Charles Spencer’s account of Diana

This version appears in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, set to be released on September 22. Charles Spencer recounts a tense phone conversation with the future king shortly after Diana’s death on August 31, 1997. The exchange focused on the participation of Princes William and Harry in their mother’s funeral procession.

Spencer, who opposed the two boys walking behind the coffin, writes that Charles allegedly remarked they would forget Diana “quite quickly.” He presents this statement as an expression of disdain that the prince supposedly felt at that moment. This claim is based solely on his testimony and has not been independently corroborated.

In a statement provided to People, a palace spokesperson emphasized that the monarchy does not comment on books as a matter of principle. He added that sibling grief can distort judgment and memory, even long after a loss. Town & Country interprets this response as a direct challenge to Spencer’s account.

William, who was 15 at the time of the funeral, explained in 2017 that the decision for the boys to walk behind the coffin was a collective family decision. Harry, who was 12, wrote in his own memoirs that several adults, including his uncle Charles Spencer, had contested this participation.

Charles Spencer had not responded to the palace’s statement at the time of its publication. His book, of which four copies were stolen in the Netherlands before its release, is presented by Penguin Random House as his first detailed account dedicated to Diana.