Earl Spencer has recalled an alleged incident with Princess Anne that made him feel “small”. In his new book, Swan Song, Princess Diana’s brother recounts the events of a royal dinner when he was just 17 years old.
The dinner marked the days leading up to the wedding of the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, reports Woman and Home.
A Royal Dinner Encounter
In the book, Earl Spencer writes: “It transpired, to my alarm, that I was actually placed next to Anne, and when she turned my way, I asked, 'And how did your daughter's christening go today, Ma'am?'”
He claims: “I expected her to run away with the happy topic of her baby Zara's baptism.” Instead, he says, “she stopped, looked at me witheringly, and asked, 'Tell me, how's a christening supposed to go?'”
Reflections on the Evening
Reflecting on the evening, he writes: “It was the luck of the draw that night, whether you were placed next to a royal who was happy to make you feel small, or one that had the grace and manners to look for common ground, wherever it might be found.”
Princess Diana, the Earl’s sister, died on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris at age 36. She was in the car with her then-partner, Dodi Fayed.
Legacy and Book's Purpose
Dodi and the driver died instantly, while Diana was pronounced dead hours later. The public was devastated by the loss, with tributes pouring in worldwide. Mourners lined the streets outside Buckingham Palace, leaving notes and flowers.
In the book's introduction, Earl Spencer writes: “The aim of the book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective. I am going to tell things how I remember them, lay them down for good, once and for all.”
