Earl Spencer has again insisted that King Charles made a remark about Princess Diana which he calls “those five words”, during a new interview about his book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Speaking to CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, the princess’s brother was asked whether the King actually said “We’ll forget her soon enough”.
He replied: “He genuinely said that. I call it 'those five words. And I told people close to me about it at the time. It was so shocking.”
Alleged remark after funeral dispute
The earl added that Charles’s alleged outburst “stemmed” from their disagreement over Prince William and Prince Harry, aged 15 and 12 at the time, having to walk behind their mother’s coffin in public.
“I thought it was an absurd idea and really not right. And he [the King] saw things very differently. And we had a difference of opinion,” the earl said.
He continued: “And we all know he has a temper. You may remember the scene where he loses his temper with a fountain pen when he's signing a document when he became king.
“It was probably one of those moments for him. But for me, as a grieving brother, it was very shocking.”
Palace response and new podcast
In the book, Mr Spencer alleges that Charles told him, “Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough,” after the earl objected to her sons walking behind her coffin. He also claims Charles, then the Prince of Wales, “sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner” when he spoke to the earl after the princess’s death.
Buckingham Palace responded to the claims by saying “fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory”.
Separately, the Express announced the launch of Royals Unscripted, a weekly video podcast hosted by Royal Editor Emily Ferguson and commentator Carole Malone, launching on Thursday, October 1, 2026, on YouTube and major podcasting platforms.
