If Earl Spencer believes he owns a moral high ground with the 'revelations' in his new Diana memoir, he may sadly be deluding himself. Princess Diana's brother has caused huge turmoil not just for the Royal Family and King Charles, but also for his nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry.
A memoir of revenge or homage?
He claims his new memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" is his 30th anniversary homage to his tragic lost sibling and simply to "celebrate Diana". But to many, it appears to be an exercise in ice-cold revenge.
On CBS Mornings this week, as he continues to tout the book around the world, Spencer admitted he never sought approval from either William or Harry before publishing it.
Six words that reveal the truth
He said that when Harry learned about the memoir, he naturally first asked if there was anything embarrassing for him in it. CBS host Gayle King asked of the princes: "Do they approve of the book?" to which Spencer replied: "I don't know - I haven't asked about approval. Harry was like 'Is there anything in there that would be embarrassing to me?' I said 'absolutely not'."
But his next six words appear to show me that Spencer may be deluding himself about the mischief he has actually sparked with his new book. He told Gayle King: "I'm very specific about people's privacy."
Really? Since when?
Privacy questions and the Palace response
Have you respected King Charles' privacy by revealing to the world 30-year-old private conversations relating to how Charles broke the news of Diana's death to William and Harry?
What about Harry and William's own privacy being shattered by his book? Or the upset for the princes knowing that Spencer appears to be weaponising Diana's memory against their own father?
Spencer now claims Buckingham Palace is "gaslighting" him by pretending "there's something wrong with my mind or my memory" after they responded to his claims by saying the King "is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory."
By stressing he is "specific about people's privacy," I wonder who exactly is gaslighting whom?
