King Charles’ unprecedented reaction to ‘agony’ of Charles Spencer’s hurtful claims

Princess Diana‘s brother, Earl Spencer‘s new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is hours from being released but already has courted a response from His Majesty, the King.

Among the bombshell claims published in excerpts ahead of its publication on Tuesday were that Diana’s former husband sounded “giddily elated” at news of her death, and claimed he said: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!” ahead of Diana’s funeral. 

These allegations were met with what is being described by Ingrid Seward, author of Catherine & Diana: The inside story, as an unprecedented response from King.

A spokesperson for the Monarch 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.”

Discussing the King’s surprise public reaction, Ingrid said: “I think that Charles felt very strongly about this, because I’ve never heard a statement like this before. And he must have considered the implications of it and realised, you know, this is going to cause more agony, so he felt so strongly. I think that it was put out pretty swiftly.”

What did Earl Spencer write?

In snippets being serialised in the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer recalled the moment he was told of his sister’s death, on 31 August 1997.

Earl Spencer said that the then-Prince Charles had caught him as he crossed his upstairs landing.

© Tim Graham

“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 alleged.

Other details shared so far have suggested that the royal family didn’t adhere to what Diana wanted played at her funeral, which Charles said was Mozart’s Requiem.

© AFP via Getty Images

The Earl also 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.'”

How will Swan Song impact Earl Spencer’s relationship with his nephews?

When asked if Earl Spencer’s book will effectively end relationships with his nephews William and Harry, on HELLO!’s Right Royal Podcast, HELLO!’s Royal Editor, Emily Nash, said: “Well, to the best of my knowledge, I don’t think he’s particularly close to William. We know Harry stayed with him back in July when he was in the UK. 

© POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“So they do have a somewhat closer relationship, but it puts Harry in a difficult situation because, however much he may like to wear his heart on his sleeve when he talks about his mother, he’s been very passionate about being attached to her legacy and wanting to bring that into pretty much everything he does; on the other hand, we know he’s trying to reconcile with his father. So where does this leave him? He can’t very well support what his uncle is saying.”

As for William, Emily adds: “But William is the person, I think, maybe in the most difficult situation, because whatever his feelings behind the scenes, he has to keep the show on the road. This is his future and his family’s future. And if you’re lobbing a grenade at the institution… Really? Because it’s not just the King who’s being accused of things here, it’s the whole palace machinery. And of course we know from everything that happened around the Panorama scandal, William is sick of people capitalising on his mother’s memory to make money. So I do wonder what he feels about this.”