Earl Spencer didn’t tell Prince William or Prince Harry about shocking claims in Princess Diana book

The British royal family is facing a challenging time that has seen the King embark in a war of words with Earl Charles Spencer.

Earl Spencer‘s controversial new memoir about Princess Diana‘s life and death is yet to even hit the shelves. But in previews shared with the Daily Mail, he has made some explosive claims – and it prompted the Palace to push back.

In new excerpts from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, published on Thursday, Spencer claimed that some inside Buckingham Palace were “relieved – indeed pleased” at Diana’s death  and alleged that the King sounded “giddily elated – like a lottery winner” on the morning she died.

He suggests the then-Prince Charles might have been pleased he was now “free” to marry Camilla Parker Bowles.

Spencer’s claims about Charles’s reaction to Diana’s death

Recalling the moment he was told of his sister’s death, on 31 August 1997, Spencer said that Prince Charles had caught him as he crossed his upstairs landing.

“Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time,” he claimed.

“He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral. It all sounded strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster.

“Looking back now, I suspect the prince’s first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not. It can be hard to feel too much sympathy for an ex-spouse, or those who care for them profoundly, after bitter divorce.”

Funeral arrangements for Princess Diana

Elsewhere in the book, Spencer claims that the organisation of the funeral was taken off the Earl’s family by an “entitled” Prince Charles, and that Buckingham Palace ignored Diana’s wish to have Mozart’s Requiem played for her.

“Diana remained theirs, in Buckingham Palace’s eyes, even in death. Her family, despite her divorce, were simply expected to fall into line with any royal decisions,” he wrote.

‘It is at moments like this that even the most ardent monarchist finds that questions about arrogance and entitlement arise.”

Shock for Prince William and Prince Harry

The extracts from the book have proved hugely contentious. And it has been revealed that Earl Spencer did not warn Prince William, Prince Harry or Buckingham Palace about the contents of his memoir, according to The Telegraph.

Although it was announced that he was writing the book, the security operation around it was so tight that the manuscript was not shared in advance.

Furthermore, William, Harry, King Charles, and Buckingham Palace were not warned about allegations made in its pages.

It is perhaps surprising that Spencer did not warn his nephews about the contents; he is known to still be close to Harry, who visited him over the summer with his own family. 

Earl Spencer’s contentious claim about Charles

The book, set to be published next week, will revisit a very difficult time for the Royal Family, and on Wednesday the Palace responded to a shocking claim about Charles’s response to Diana’s death in the first published extract.

Spencer has claimed that the then-Prince of Wales subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to have to walk in her funeral procession.

“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. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’.”

Buckingham Palace hits back – ‘grief can cloud reason’

It prompted an unusual and swift rebuttal. A Palace spokesperson said: “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.”

Prince Harry has previously said that walking behind his mother’s coffin aged 12 was something no child “should be asked to do”.

In 2017, he told the BBC he did not “have an opinion whether that was right or wrong” but. “looking back on it”, he was glad to have been part of the day.

Copies of the book stolen in the Netherlands

Earlier on Wednesday, it emerged that copies of the unreleased book had been stolen from a lorry in the Netherlands. 

According to the Mail, a lorry with the books left a printing plant in central Europe on Monday on its way to a warehouse in the Netherlands before copies were distributed to Dutch bookshops.

At some point that evening the driver parked in a lay-by deep in the Dutch countryside to sleep. At around 8am he found the lorry had been broken into but, mysteriously, only a handful of wrapped copies of Swan Song were missing. Dutch police are investigating the mysterious break-in.

Business as usual for Prince William and Princess Kate

On Thursday, the Prince and Princess of Wales took part in a beach litter pick, getting their hands dirty and driving a tractor to help clear refuse in picturesque Ettrick Bay on the Isle of Bute.

William and Kate joined members of Beachwatch Bute, an organisation that has helped keep the island’s beaches free from litter and marine waste for almost 30 years. 

They walked along the sand with Beach Ranger Sandra Macmillan and supporters of the charity, which has coordinated clean-up activities on Bute since 1998, to keep the coastline safe and accessible for wildlife and local people. 

As they made their way down the sands, the royal party met volunteers including Suzy Cumming and her son Isaac, eight, who had found a message in a bottle on the beach moments before the royal visitors arrived. “I hope it’s a nice message,” said the Prince. “I hope it’s not a message for help from someone stuck on an island!”

William and Kate were then shown a tractor and trailer used by the charity and maintained by volunteer mechanic Robery Murray from West Coast Motors, which also stores the vehicles for Beachwatch when not in use.

After being given a quick tutorial by Sandra, William took the wheel, and with Kate giggling alongside him in the cab, drove it down onto the sand and reversed it towards a large plastic mussel buoy that had washed up.

Amid horizontal rain, they climbed out to help roll it onto the back of the tractor before driving it back up off the beach. 

Prince Harry makes his first public appearance since UK return

The Duke of Sussex  stepped out for his first public event since returning to the UK on Thursday evening, as he attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Gala Dinner and Awards in London.

When asked by attendees at the event how things were going, Harry replied, “Good. It’s good to be back on British soil.”

Wearing black tie, the Duke was not accompanied by the Duchess of Sussex, who was understood to have stayed at home to look after their two children, Archie and Lilibet.

At a champagne reception before Thursday evening’s ceremony, the Duke told guests he was “incredibly excited” to meet the winners and nominees after being part of the judging panel, alongside Meghan

Celebrities including comedian James Corden, singers Jess Glynn and Sonique, and Ross Kemp were also in attendance.

Upon spotting James Haskell, a former England rugby star, Harry walked over and gave him a bear hug, telling him “great to see you again”.