King Charles allegedly acted like a “lottery winner” in the hours after Princess Diana’s death, her brother Earl Spencer has claimed in his bombshell new memoir.
In the latest serialisation of the damning book, the then-Prince of Wales is accused of appearing “giddily elated” on the phone, shortly after his former wife had been killed in a car crash in Paris.
Earl Spencer has also revealed details about the couple’s unhappy marriage, and Diana’s wish to call off the engagement prior to their wedding in 1981.
This includes allegations that the late Princess of Wales had discovered a bracelet for Camilla prior to their marriage, that Charles had “shown no interest in her” at a birthday party, and that he had told her she was looking “a bit chubby”.
The King appeared in public on Thursday for the first time after allegations emerged on Wednesday that Charles allegedly told Earl Spencer to “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her tragic death.
The allegations sparked a punchy response from Buckingham Palace. "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,” it said.
In response to the latest allegations, the palace said they had nothing further to add.
The response was described by editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward as “unprecedented” and “very, very unusual”.
“I imagine it’s because the King was very upset and wanted to set the record straight – more on behalf of his sons than anything else,” she said.
But addressing tech leaders in Edinburgh on Thursday, the claims were not referenced as the King warned of the “existential dangers” of AI systems falling into the wrong hands
In an extract published in the Daily Mail on Thursday, the royal family are accused of showing “arrogance and entitlement” in the organisation of Diana’s funeral, and that her family’s request to have Mozart’s Requiem played was rejected, despite those being her wishes.
Earl Spencer said that the excuse that no requiem song could be played at a Church of England service was the “first of several untruths that the authorities would push my way”.
Charles, who was prince at the time the allegations refer to, allegedly made the remarks that Diana would be forgotten during an argument over the decision to have princes William and Harry, who were aged 15 and 12 at the time, walk in their mother’s funeral procession.
After Earl Spencer opposed this, Charles allegedly phoned him and remarked in a “stream of anger” that his ex-wife would soon be forgotten.
In his memoir titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Earl Spencer claims that he argued Diana would not have wanted her sons to join the procession.
“He unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’” the memoir claims.
Earl Spencer has also claimed that on the day before their wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral, Charles had told Diana that he was “very happy to marry her, but he was not actually in love with her”.
It also alleges that she had found a bracelet Charles had bought for Camilla, whom he later married in 2005, and had become so concerned that she had attempted to break off their engagement but was persuaded against doing so by her father.
This occurred after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s 21st birthday at Windsor Castle, when Charles is accused of showing “next to no interest in her”.
Suffering from eating disorders, Earl Spencer alleges that her insecurity only worsened shortly after their engagement when Charles squeezed her waist and said: “Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?”
Her brother later described it as a “monumental blunder” that the palace transferred Diana’s care from her entrusted GP to royal doctors, with her weight loss returning “with a vengeance” after the birth of Prince William.
He also said that, in Diana’s later years, she drove herself to a high cliff and considered “ending it all” - but that her love for William and Harry prevented a tragedy.
“It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all.,” Earl Spencer wrote. “Her love for her sons stopped her from going further.”
The Daily Mail reported that the book would include a “string of further extraordinary claims about Diana’s failed marriage to King Charles and the tumultuous aftermath of her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997”.
The claims in Earl Spencer’s book came as the family endures a painful period marred by several scandals and family disputes, including the estrangement between Diana’s two sons.
It also comes as Harry undertakes his first public engagements since moving back to the UK in August.
The Duke of Sussex, who the King has emphasised is no longer a working member of the royal family, was seen for the first time when he attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in London.
It is understood that this summer, he and his wife Meghan, as well as their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, visited Earl Spencer at his home at Althorp House in Northamptonshire.
Diana, who was raised at the Grade I-listed property, which has been a home to the Spencer family for over 500 years, is buried within the grounds.
William and Kate, who also hold the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland, are also currently making their first official visit to the Isle of Bute.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branchIf you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
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