Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, has become embroiled in a public disagreement with King Charles after an excerpt from his upcoming book recalled a conversation about the late Princess's funeral arrangements.
Earl Spencer's book, titled Swan Song, about his late sister, is due to be released in a matter of weeks, with excerpts published by the Daily Mail. In the book, Diana's brother recalls when Charles, then Prince of Wales, said the royal family would "forget her soon enough" following her tragic death in 1997.
Palace responds to allegations
Charles Spencer alleged the monarch expressed "pent-up contempt for Diana" after the tragedy, as the Earl spoke of his concern about letting William and Harry walk behind Diana's coffin in the funeral procession. Shortly after the accusations were made public, Buckingham Palace issued an unprecedented statement to hit back at the comments.
A spokesman for the King 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."
Claims in new memoir
In allegations serialised in the Daily Mail, Spencer claims the comments "unleashed" by the King following Diana's death in a Paris road tunnel on August 31, 1997, reflected "his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death".
Despite the release of the bombshell claims, many senior royals, including the King and the Prince and Princess of Wales, will undertake engagements today.
Expert weighs in
Royal expert Ingrid Seward, who spoke with the late Princess Diana in the weeks before her death, told The Sun that Diana would be "horrified" by her brother's comments about King Charles. Ingrid wrote: "When I last met her six weeks before her death, she was adamant that she and Charles really loved each other. And it was so important to her that their children knew that. So she would be horrified that he would share a comment that could appear to show so much malice."
Prince William and Princess Kate will spend the day on the Isle of Bute, marking their first official visit to the isle. The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, as William and Kate are known when in Scotland, will visit the Bute Shinty Club in Rothesay, before heading to Ettrick Bay to meet the team behind Beachwatch Bute and learn about their efforts to protect the island's coastline. They will finish the day with a visit to the community-owned Anchor Tavern Pub & Hub in Port Bannatyne.
