Princess Diana’s brother has spoken out after Buckingham Palace issued a rare response to claims in his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. Spencer accused King Charles of “gaslighting” him and said he was shocked by the Palace’s reaction.
Speaking in an interview with ’ Maggie Rulli for Good Morning America, Spencer addressed the statement issued by after excerpts from his book were published ahead of its 22 September release.
“Well, it’s not every day you’re gaslit by a king, but I was really upset with that because I thought it was very, not only condescending, but not straight,” Spencer said. “What I said is straight and true. And what did they come back with? That. It doesn’t say he didn’t say it either. That’s what I found interesting. I was really shocked, actually.”
In Swan Song, Spencer recalls a disagreement with the then- over arrangements for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. According to his account, Charles told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Spencer has maintained that he remembers the conversation clearly. The claim concerns events shortly after Diana died in a car crash in August 1997, aged 36.
The account prompted an unusually direct response from Buckingham Palace. While the Palace generally does not comment on books about members of the , it said King Charles was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory”.
Spencer interpreted that response as an attempt to undermine his recollection rather than a direct denial of the conversation.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister revisits Diana’s life from her brother’s perspective, including her childhood, marriage to Charles, motherhood, intense media scrutiny and the aftermath of her death.
The memoir also examines the events surrounding her funeral. Spencer has written that he objected to Princes , then 15 and 12, walking behind their mother’s coffin during the procession. He has said he believed Diana would not have wanted her young sons placed at the centre of such an emotionally difficult public event.
Spencer’s relationship with Diana has long placed him close to one of the most scrutinised periods in the modern Royal Family’s history. He delivered the eulogy at her funeral at and later continued to write and speak about his sister’s life and legacy.
Neither Prince William nor Prince Harry has publicly commented on the claims in Spencer’s memoir. The book is due to be published on 22 September, with the Palace’s response and Spencer’s subsequent remarks adding a new layer to the long-running scrutiny surrounding Diana’s final years and death.
