Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, has accused King Charles of “gaslighting him” over Buckingham Palace’s response to the claims in his bombshell memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. The allegation follows a highly unusual rebuke from the Royal Family after Earl Spencer claimed that then Prince Charles told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” A Palace spokesperson said in a statement last week that fraternal grief can “cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory.”
Fresh Claims and Palace Response
Despite the Palace’s statement, more extracts from the Earl’s book have been published, including a claim that King Charles seemed “elated” on the day of Princess Diana’s death in 1997, at the age of 36. Earl Spencer said the now-king was one of many callers to offer condolences, but the conversation was different from others.
“Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time,” he wrote.
In an upcoming BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the Earl also compared the treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their time as working royals to his sister’s experience.
Harry and Meghan’s Treatment ‘Echoes’ Diana’s
Earl Spencer has said the treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by the media has “echoes” of what happened to his sister, Diana. He described intense media scrutiny of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a “cancerous influence in their life.”
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Earl Spencer was asked whether he thought Diana would have identified with the scrutiny Harry and Meghan face. “I’m not here to speak for Harry and Meghan, but for anyone who’s being destroyed in this way daily, it must be such a cancerous influence in their life,” he said. “And I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana’s example.”
The comments came after Harry and Meghan recently returned to the UK from California, six years after stepping back from royal duties. The pair have already been plagued by alleged security issues and reportedly had to pull their two children, Archie and Lilibet, out of school just days into term.
Where and When to Watch the Interview
Earl Spencer will speak with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg later today from his Althorp estate. Kuenssberg is expected to ask about some of the claims Diana’s younger brother has already put out as his upcoming book is serialised by the Daily Mail, plus uncover new details.
The full interview with Laura Kuenssberg will air on Sunday on BBC One at 6.30pm BST, or if you can’t wait that long, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer from 4pm.
Metro is keeping up with all the latest updates about the unfolding saga in a live blog, covering the latest claims from Princess Diana’s younger brother, Earl Spencer.
