Earl Spencer has shared a heartbreaking reflection on the death of his sister, Princess Diana, nearly 30 years after the car crash that took her life. In his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, released this week, he writes that he missed her every day, adding: “You never get over it,” according to the BBC.
Memoir sparks controversy
The book has sparked controversy with a string of allegations against the King. In it, the Earl alleges that Charles said, “We’ll forget her soon enough,” after Diana died. A palace spokesman said last week that the King is “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.
In response, Spencer hit back in an interview on Sunday with the BBC, saying: “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.”
Remembering the tragedy
Princess Diana died in 1997. Next August marks three decades since her death in a car crash in Paris. Following the crash, she was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning, where surgeons tried for two hours to save her life. In a statement at the time, Buckingham Palace said the Queen and the Prince of Wales were “deeply shocked and distressed”.
The then-Prince Charles broke the news of their mother's death to Princes William and Harry at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the royal family had been spending the summer. The crash happened after the princess left the Ritz Hotel in the French capital with her companion, Dodi Al Fayed, the son of Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed.
Public mourning
The princess received a ceremonial funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. Around 2,000 people, including all members of the Royal Family, were in attendance. The funeral was watched by 2 billion people worldwide. Her death was met with widespread public mourning in the United Kingdom and across the world, with reports of over one million bouquets being left at her London residence, Kensington Palace.
