Culture
CROSS-SPECTRUMBROAD COVERAGE
Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir fuels fresh dispute with Buckingham Palace over alleged Charles comment
Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, repeats a claim that Prince Charles said the family would “forget her soon enough” after Princess Diana’s death. Buckingham Palace responded by saying grief can affect recollection and judgment, and questioned the accuracy of Spencer’s memories. Spencer, who is 77 and undergoing cancer treatment, has rejected suggestions that he is seeking profit from the book. The palace declined to comment on the memoir itself, focusing instead on the impact of personal loss on memory.
How this was covered
- Left-leaning outlets covered this 12h later
Why it matters
The clash highlights how personal recollections can become contested in the public narrative of a high‑profile royal family.
How this story developed
- Sep 14 Meghan and Harry to undergo government security review as they return to the UK
- Sep 15 Ravec has asked the couple to provide detailed daily‑routine information for the risk assessment.
- Sep 15 A lorry carrying the soon-to-be-released book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" was intercepted while the driver slept at a lay-by in the Dutch countryside. Four copies, concealed in black plastic, vanished from the vehicle. The theft has prompted a Dutch police investigation, with publishing insiders describing the incident as highly unusual given the tight security surrounding the high-profile release scheduled for September 22.
- Sep 17 Dutch police have opened a probe into the theft.
- Sep 17 The children were transferred to a different school after two days due to safety and privacy concerns.
- Sep 18 Allegations that Charles said Diana would be forgotten have been publicised alongside the theft investigation.
- Sep 20 Buckingham Palace issued a statement questioning the accuracy of Spencer’s memories.
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