Four books stolen from a truck in the dead of night in the Dutch countryside isn’t the most explosive story to come out of the royal family this week. Yet news that a team of literary criminals was desperately trying to get their hands on a copy of Earl Spencer’s Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, released this Tuesday, sparked conspiracy theories across the globe.
Some suggested it was a PR stunt, while others claimed it was the King trying to get his hands on the most explosive royal book since Prince Harry’s Spare. Just 24 hours later, the first excerpt of the memoir was released, sparking a war of words over an alleged conversation made in the days following Princess Diana’s death on 31 August 1997.
Her brother, 62, claims a fight broke out over whether Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin in September 1997. When the earl was told by a palace aide that they would be walking, he objected, telling him, “That’s not going to happen!”
A shocking phone call
The earl alleges that a furious Charles phoned minutes later and “went nuts”. Diana’s brother tried to tell the future monarch that she wouldn’t have wanted her young sons to endure such a public ordeal.
“But Charles continued his stream of anger without interrupting. Then he stopped. I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control. “But then he 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. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed. ‘We’ll forget her soon enough!’”
The earl (also called Charles) was so stunned, he took a few seconds before replying, “I can’t believe you just said that,” and hung up.
He says Charles was “giddily elated, like a lottery winner” about his ex-wife’s death.
The palace has hit back with a statement saying, “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 judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise even many years after such a loss.”
The King hits back
An insider tells us, “This is the King’s version of the late Queen’s ‘recollections may vary’ line and it’s effective. But suggesting the earl’s memory is faulty is incredibly insulting to Charles, who’s spent years researching this book. “He’s quite stunned the palace has done this. The book’s not even out yet and already the King’s on the attack. “But if you thought the earl was upset, that’s nothing compared to the King. He’s livid to be quoted as saying something so heartless and he’s not going to let this get out of hand like it did last time, which ended with Charles getting death threats because of ridiculous conspiracy theories that he had her killed.
“The King did expect a few gripes from Di’s brother, but he’s not going to stand around and have his words misconstrued.”
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward agrees, “Diana would be horrified that her brother would reveal this remark by Charles. When I last met her six weeks before her death, she was adamant that she and Charles really loved each other, and it was so important to her that their children knew that.”
Worst of all, says our insider, the King feels Di’s brother is driving a wedge again between him and his beloved sons, whom he feels will never get over the alleged comments.
“The boys were traumatised by Diana’s death, but to have these comments presented in a way that makes their father out to be heartless… He worries they’ll never forgive either of them for what was said. “The boys will be furious at how this has played out in public. They’ll never get over it.”
