Earl Spencer reveals new account of Charles's reaction to Diana's death
Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, claims in his upcoming memoir that King Charles sounded unusually upbeat during a phone call after his ex-wife's death in 1997. It is the second controversial excerpt revealed from the book.
Earl Charles Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, describes a phone conversation with the then Prince of Wales in his forthcoming memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," which took place a few days after Diana's tragic death in 1997. The Daily Mail has been granted permission to publish excerpts from the book ahead of its release in stores.
In the memoir, Spencer writes that unlike other people who called him sounding shocked and barely able to offer condolences, Charles sounded happily agitated during the call — like someone who had just won the lottery. The earl says he got the impression that the prince's first reaction may have been connected to the possibility of marrying the woman he loved, rather than grief over the loss of the woman he no longer loved.
Dispute over the funeral procession
During the same conversation, disagreements also arose over whether Diana's sons — Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12 — should walk behind their mother's coffin in the funeral procession before a watching world. Spencer insisted Diana would not have wanted this, though both sons ultimately did walk behind the coffin.
Palace response
While Buckingham Palace typically declines to comment on claims made in memoirs, it departed from that practice this time, responding to the first excerpt made public, in which Charles allegedly said Diana would soon be forgotten. A palace spokesperson said in response that grief over the loss of a sister can cloud judgment. This marks the second of several revealed episodes from the book raising new criticism of Charles's conduct following his ex-wife's death.
