Earl Charles Spencer has responded to Buckingham Palace's statement about his new book, accusing King Charles of "gaslighting" him and describing the Palace's response as "very aggressive."
The Earl, younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, made several claims in his book 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister', including that Charles, as the Prince of Wales, had been "giddily elated" and behaving "like a lottery winner" after his separation from Diana. He also alleged the King told him: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough" before Prince William and Prince Harry walked behind their mother's coffin.
Palace's Unprecedented Response
Buckingham Palace took the unusual step of responding to the claims, stating: "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."
Spencer, 62, has since responded in a new interview with former magazine editor Tina Brown. During the interview in New York, he accused the Palace's statement of being "very aggressive" and claimed the King was attempting to throw doubt on his recollections.
Spencer's Rebuttal
When Brown asked Spencer about his claims causing a "great debate" in the UK, he responded: "I don't know if it is a great debate. I'll tell you why, [Charles] had the opportunity to not say anything or to deny it and he did neither."
He said that Charles "didn't say 'I didn't say it'," and hit back at the point over "fraternal grief", saying it was "called gaslighting". He also criticised the monarch's "temper", referencing the King getting annoyed at a pen in 2022 and Diana's funeral.
"The last thing she would want was to have those boys traumatised walking behind her body," Spencer said. "So I was very calm, and we know Prince Charles can be not calm. We all bow our heads in respect to what that pen had to endure when he had his tantrum."
Further Interviews and Book's Creation
Spencer has given other interviews about the book, including on CNN, where he stood by his claim about the disagreement he and the King had before Diana's funeral. He said: "I thought it was an absurd idea and really not right. And he [the King] saw things very differently. And we had a difference of opinion. It was probably one of those moments for him. But for me, as a grieving brother, it was very shocking."
The Express reported that Spencer said Prince Harry had no issues with the book but asked if there was anything in it that would affect him. Spencer added: "Harry was sort of like, 'Is there anything in there that would be embarrassing to me?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' You know, I'm very specific about people's privacy."
He confirmed the book was created in almost complete secret, with only his wife and publishers knowing about it. "I didn't tell any of the family until just before it was released publicly," he said. "Because I didn't want anyone to think, particularly with Harry, who people know I had to stay in the summer, that he was in any way involved in this."
