Royals rebut claims made by Princess Diana’s brother in new book

Britain’s royal family, in a rare comment, is disputing allegations made by the brother of Princess Diana in an upcoming book about his late sister.

The allegation by Earl Spencer was revealed in an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Tuesday, the BBC reported. The controversy involves a comment made by King Charles III, Diana’s former husband, who was the Prince of Wales when the princess died in an automobile wreck in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. She was 36.

Spencer’s book, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” will be released on Sept. 22, USA Today reported. In the excerpt, Charles allegedly told Spencer in the days before her funeral, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

In a rare response, Buckingham Palace disputed the exchange.

“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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” the palace said in a statement.

Buckingham Palace typically does not comment on books or reports about members of the royal family.

The palace was publicly silent after the release of Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir, “Spare,” “Good Morning America” reported. The prince’s book contained numerous claims about King Charles III and other members of the royal family.

According to the Daily Mail, Spencer wrote in his book that when a senior aide to Queen Elizabeth told him that Prince William, 15 at the time, and 12-year-old Prince Harry would take part in Princess Diana’s funeral procession, he replied, “That’s not going to happen.”

Spencer alleged that Charles called minutes later, telling him that he had walked in the funeral procession of his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in 1979, USA Today reported.

When Spencer answered that Charles was 30 at the time, the prince allegedly “went nuts.”

“He (Charles) 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,” Spencer wrote. “‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough.’”

Spencer allegedly responded, “I can’t believe you just said that,” and hung up.

Julian Payne, the monarch’s former communications secretary, told the BBC that the king’s apparent comments in the book were “just not language that I recognize.”

He added that the “highly unusual” statement from the Palace demonstrated the “strength of feeling that there must have been for them to feel that they needed to go out there and correct it.”

Spencer said he wanted “to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective” with August 2027 marking the 30th anniversary of her death, according to a news release from Penguin Press on Aug. 20.

“This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time,” Spencer said.

©2026 Cox Media Group