Unpublished memoir by Princess Diana's brother stolen in suspicious Netherlands heist

On the night of September 15-16, four copies of Earl Charles Spencer's unpublished memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" were stolen from a truck in the Netherlands. The driver had parked the vehicle overnight while transporting the books to a warehouse for distribution, and someone broke into it while he slept.

Only a handful of copies were taken from the entire shipment — four books in total. Dutch police have opened an investigation into the incident.

A "highly suspicious" theft

A publishing source told the Daily Mail that nothing like this had happened before, stressing that unusually tight security measures had surrounded the book given its potential to be the most important release of the year. According to the source, every precaution had been taken to prevent the book's contents from leaking before its official release date, which is why the theft is being treated with extreme seriousness.

A book about Princess Diana

News that the 62-year-old Spencer was preparing a book about his sister first emerged in August. It will mark the first time he speaks so extensively and openly about Princess Diana. In a statement, Spencer said he wants to tell the truth about his sister from his own perspective, much as he tried to do in his eulogy at her funeral.

Spencer said his decision to write the book was influenced by the approaching 30th anniversary of Diana's death, as well as the many interview requests he has received to discuss her. He explained that he wanted to set down his own memories rather than continue reading other people's assumptions, some of which have come to be treated as fact over time.

The book will be published by Penguin Press, translated into 12 languages, and has already become an Amazon bestseller through pre-orders ahead of its official release, scheduled for September 22.