A Buckingham Palace source has hit back against claims made by Earl Spencer about King Charles's reaction to the death of Princess Diana, asking, "Why now?"
Charles Spencer, a British peer, is the younger brother of Diana, King Charles's first wife, who died on August 31, 1997. The Princess, who is the mother of his eldest son and future King, Prince William, as well as Prince Harry, died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris, sparking a global outpouring of grief. Her boyfriend at the time, Dodi Fayed, and the driver were also killed. The royal's bodyguard was badly injured but survived.
Claims in forthcoming memoir
Earl Spencer, 62, has now claimed in a soon-to-be-released memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, that the monarch was "giddily elated like a lottery winner" in a phone call to him after news emerged of Diana's tragic passing.
The Earl also alleged in the book, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail, that the then Prince of Wales' reaction "must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved (Camilla)".
Palace source defends King's actions
But a source quoted by The Sun rubbished the claims, saying footage from the time clearly showed the King was in deep grief in the wake of the news, and travelled to Paris himself to bring her coffin back to the UK. They also cast doubt on the motivations and timing of the Earl's comments.
They said the King "fought for Diana to have a ceremonial funeral against all protocols because she was the mother of the future King and in response to the overwhelming public grief".
"The footage and actions speak for themselves, and one has to question why these allegations are surfacing now and whether they are being aired for money," they added.
Context and previous allegations
Earl Spencer is thought to remain close with his nephew Prince Harry, who is understood to have been aware of the book but not what it contained, The Guardian reports. The Palace has not responded to the claims in the latest excerpt from the memoir.
It comes after Earl Spencer alleged in a previous excerpt that Charles had said during a phone call with him just days after Diana's death that she would be forgotten "soon enough". In response to that allegation, a Palace spokesperson 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."
The Daily Telegraph quoted a source close to the monarch who said the alleged comment was "just not in his nature and it certainly wasn’t in his nature at that time, when he was a man absolutely grief-stricken". The Earl's memoir will be released on Tuesday, September 22.
