Buckingham Palace has pushed back against claims made by Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in an upcoming book. The Earl alleges that just days after Diana's death in 1997, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, told him "rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough" during a discussion about funeral arrangements in which Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, walked behind their mother's coffin.
Palace responds to memoir claims
In response to the claims made in the new memoir, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said King Charles is "mindful the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason".
The statement reads: "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."
Earl's account of funeral dispute
The King is said to have made the remarks about his former wife during a dispute over funeral preparations, and to have called into question the Spencer family's sense of duty. The Earl claims he pressed the then Prince of Wales on the matter, insisting that Diana would never have wished for her young sons to endure the gruelling public procession, it has been reported.
According to the newspaper, Earl Spencer says the book – Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – has been written to correct "untruths" told about his older sister, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997. In an excerpt from the book, one of Queen Elizabeth II's most senior aides reportedly informed him that William and Harry were to take part in the procession, prompting the Earl to declare "that's not going to happen".
Details of the phone call
It is claimed Charles rang minutes later, telling him that 18 years previously he himself had walked in the funeral procession of his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The Earl was quick to point out that Charles had been 30 years old at the time of Lord Mountbatten's funeral in 1979.
In the book excerpt, the Earl claims: "Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped. "I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. 'Rest assured', he hissed, 'we'll forget her soon enough!'" The Earl states he subsequently put the phone down.
William, Harry, Charles, Prince Philip and the Earl all walked behind Diana's coffin in a funeral procession through the heart of London to the service at Westminster Abbey. At Diana's funeral, the Earl delivered a heartfelt eulogy, vowing that the princess' "blood family" would safeguard William and Harry "so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you planned".
