Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, is releasing a memoir next month that he says will counter 'untruths' about her life and death, promising 'revelations that will draw considerable attention'. The book, titled 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister', will be published on September 22 by Penguin Random House.
First In-Depth Account
The book is described as 'extraordinarily moving' and 'remarkably candid', and is billed as telling Earl Spencer's 'astonishing story of his life with Diana and the tragic week of her death'. It marks the first time he has spoken at length about her life, covering her childhood, her failed marriage to the now King Charles, and the tense days after she died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 at age 36.
At Diana's funeral, Earl Spencer delivered a defiant eulogy at Westminster Abbey, broadcast worldwide, where he pledged that Diana's 'blood family' would protect Princes William and Harry, then teenagers.
Motivation and Purpose
Announcing the book, Earl Spencer said: 'With the 30th anniversary of Diana's tragic death on the skyline, I've been inundated yet again with requests for interviews about my sister.' He added that he was convinced to write down his own thoughts 'rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time'.
'The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother's perspective, just as I attempted to do when speaking at her funeral,' he said. He hopes readers will 'get' who Diana really was: 'a one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt'.
Revelations and Reactions
The book follows revelations from Prince Harry's 2023 memoir 'Spare', where he wrote that Earl Spencer objected to William and Harry walking in Diana's funeral procession, calling it 'barbarity'. On a podcast last year, Earl Spencer said he finds it 'difficult' when strangers recount where they were when Diana died.
Daniel Bunyard, publishing director at Penguin Random House UK, called the book 'of historic importance', noting it is 'utterly unique' due to Earl Spencer's intimate vantage point. He said the pages contain 'many revelations that will draw considerable attention', offering 'a fitting tribute to the beloved woman who was Princess Diana'.
