Earl Spencer has hit back at King Charles after Buckingham Palace issued a statement.
Earl Spencer (Image: Getty)
Earl Spencer has claimed that King Charles was “gaslighting” him in a furious row over Princess Diana, denying that he wrote his new memoir because of money. The Earl said his late sister would be “cheering from the rafters” at his book titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Spencer’s reaction comes amid the Royal Family’s fury over a string of explosive claims made in the memoir, including that Charles allegedly said of Diana: “We’ll forget her soon enough”.
The extracts provoked a highly unusual response from the Palace. Its spokesman disputed the Earl’s account, saying that fraternal grief can “cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory”.
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In a statement released last Wednesday, the Palace 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.”
The book contains some strong claims about King Charles, dating back to Princess Diana’s funeral (Image: Getty)
Last night, in his first newspaper interview since the bitter exchange began, Earl Spencer, 62, responded to the Palace’s remarks.
He said the main reason for writing the story was to tell the truth as a historian.
“My motivation in this book has been to tell the truth about Diana and all she had to put up with in her public life through the eyes of the brother who grew up with her,” he told The Daily Mail.
He accused the Palace of gaslighting.
The Earl said: “It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the King.
“It was astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I’d lied without the King being able to deny what I’d said.
“I also thought it was a rather poor imitation of the ‘recollections may vary’ quote, which was a much more elegant way of putting things, but in these circumstances entirely out of place.”
He added: “I can tell you that Diana would be cheering from the rafters at this book, I have no doubt about that.”
Former Tory MP Rory Stewart, who tutored Prince Harry and Prince William, “simply cannot believe” that the King said what Spencer claims.
He told BBC: “It’s just not his character, it’s not his personality. Never ever have I heard him say anything like that.”
BBC icon Jon Sopel breaks silence on Charles Spencer bombshell – and it’s scathing
The former BBC News star has had his say on bombshell claims made in Earl Spencer’s new book.
Jon Sopel has broken his silence (Image: Getty)
Former BBC chief political correspondent Jon Sopel has broken his silence on Earl Charles Spencer’s King Charles bombshell with a scathing comment. Over the past week, Spencer has been releasing excerpts from his new memoir Swan Song about his late sister Princess Diana, including allegations that the monarch was “giddily elated” when he talking about Diana’s death.
The palace has denied those claims and said “recollections may vary”, and Spencer has been accused of profiting off his sister’s passing. This weekend, a clip dating back to a 1998 interview with Spencer went viral on social media, in which Spencer said he would “never” dream of making money off his sister.
He said in an interview at the time: “People have lost track of this. Can you imagine anybody making a profit out of their brother or sister’s death? It’s so low it’s inconceivable. I don’t know anyone who would.
“But because the press can present Diana as a public figure, rather than as my sister, they can make it sort of a possible accusation, whereas of course it’s completely out of the question. I would never profit from Diana’s death.”
Now Sopel has shared that clip on X, tweeting: “1998: ‘I will never profit from Diana’s death’. 2026: book serialisation in Daily Mail, publication next week.” He included a shrugging emoji with his scathing response.
Charles Spencer said he would ‘never’ profit off Diana’s death (Image: Getty)
Fans were quick to respond on social media, with one writing: “Earl Spencer has made me agree with Jon Sopel. Wonders will never cease.”
Another said: “The Spencer family were never working in the interests of Diana. They’re still not.”
And a third penned: “Such a shame he’s done this now. What possible motivation does he have to create waves when none were forecast. A rather sad plea for help?”