Buckingham Palace has responded to a claim by Earl Spencer that King Charles said Diana, Princess of Wales, would be “forgotten” soon after her death.
The allegation comes from Earl Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which looks at his relationship with his sister and the events surrounding her death in 1997.
Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer. Photo credit: Jaguar PS, Shutterstock
According to an excerpt published by the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer says he became involved in a disagreement with Charles over the plans for Diana’s funeral.
He claims one of Queen Elizabeth II’s senior aides informed him that Diana’s sons, William and Harry, would walk behind their mother’s coffin.
William was 15 at the time, while Harry was 12.
Earl Spencer says he responded: “that’s not going to happen.”
He claims Charles called him shortly afterwards and referred to his own experience of walking in the funeral procession for Lord Mountbatten, who was killed in 1979.
However, Earl Spencer points out in the book that Charles was 30 years old when he attended his great-uncle’s funeral.
The Earl says the conversation then became increasingly heated.
According to his account, Charles questioned the Spencer family’s sense of duty before allegedly making the comment about Diana that has now prompted a response from Buckingham Palace.
Earl Spencer writes that Charles told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”
He says he then ended the conversation.
Diana, Princess of Wales leaves the National Building Museum in Washington DC, 1996. Photo credit: Mark Reinstein, Shutterstock
The Palace has not directly confirmed or denied the account.
Instead, a spokesperson 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.”
Earl Spencer says his memoir was written to correct what he considers to be “untruths” about his older sister.
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. Her funeral procession travelled through central London to Westminster Abbey, with William and Harry walking behind the coffin alongside their father Charles, Prince Philip and Earl Spencer.
Earl Spencer also delivered the eulogy during the funeral service, telling his sister that her “blood family” would protect her sons and ensure they were not simply shaped by “duty and tradition”.
