Princess Diana is still “deeply resented” in Buckingham Palace, it has been claimed, as the fallout from Earl Spencer’s bombshell memoir continues.
Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Diana’s refusal to act like other members of the royal family created tension in the Palace.
“She was fresh, new and exciting to the public and they really adored her,” Mr Dimbleby said. “And that was deeply resented in the palace. And still is. And this kind of tit for tat over who said what, and only two people know what was actually said just reignites all that”.
It comes after Earl Spencer claimed the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of its severity.
In the most recent extract from his memoir he said: “When the Queen had heard the first news of Diana being in a traffic accident, she had asked tetchily, ‘What is she up to now?’ This, before the seriousness of it all became clear.”
The Earl has insisted he is being truthful following backlash from Buckingham Palace, which said that the King is mindful that “grief can cloud reason”.
Read MorePalace hits back at Earl Spencer’s Diana book claims: ‘Grief can cloud reason’
Charles Spencer’s Princess Diana memoir stolen from lorry
How close was Charles Spencer to his sister Diana? Inside their complicated family bond
Charles should have listened to his mother – ‘Never complain, never explain’
Key Points
- Queen reacted 'tetchily' to news of Diana's car crash
- 'Lack of care' led Harry 'to spin out of control' after Diana's death
- Earl Spencer insists he's 'telling the truth' amid backlash
- Diana attempted to break off engagement to Charles, claims Spencer's memoir
- Everything you need to know as fresh claims emerge from Earl Spencer's book
Earl's claims: Public reaction to Diana's divorce was 'main worry'
15:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneIn an excerpt from his memoir, Earl Spencer has said that the public’s reaction was his “main worry” when Diana shared that she was getting a divorce.
In an extract from the bombshell book serialised by the Daily Mail, he described his conversation with Diana: "I was silent for a moment. I had known things were bad, but not this bad."
The earl said he then told his sister his "main worry" was the public because he worried that "they won't forgive you".
"They've bought into a fairytale, and I reckon they may well - wrongly - blame you for destroying their fantasy," he told her.
Charles Spencer’s book is Diana’s unfinished business – Harry’s documentary will finish it
15:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneAs Buckingham Palace hits back at the claims of King Charles’s reaction to the death of Diana, Dan Wakeford, former People editor and founder of the Celebrity Intelligence website, looks at why her brother is publishing his tell-all now, and how the next 12 months will be about settling scores.
This book is Diana’s unfinished business – Harry’s documentary will finish it
Charles Spencer’s Princess Diana memoir stolen from lorry
14:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneCopies of Charles Spencer’s new memoir about his sister Princess Diana have been stolen from a lorry ahead of its release date, according to reports.
The book, titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is set to be released globally next Tuesday (22 September) – but copies have been snatched from a lorry in the Netherlands, with Dutch police reportedly investigating the break-in.
A source told the Daily Mail: “It's extremely suspicious. Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is probably the biggest book of the year and the security surrounding it has been incredibly tight.”
You can read more below:
Charles Spencer’s Princess Diana memoir stolen from lorry
Watch: King Charles issues rare response to Earl Spencer’s Diana book claims
14:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneCharles called Diana 'chubby' after engagement, claims Spencer's memoir
13:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneDiana suffered from an eating disorder which worsened after Charles called her “chubby,” Earl Spencer has claimed in his bombshell memoir.
In an extract from his book, serialised in the Daily Mail, the Earl claims that ahead of his sister’s wedding, Prince Charles had squeezed Diana’s waist and said, “Oh, a bit chubby here, aren't we?”
The earl said his sister found the comment "devastating," later telling him that her "waist shrank from 29 to 23 and a half inches between her engagement and her marriage," which were five months apart in 1981.
Royal expert suspects ‘collusion’ and ‘guilt’ behind Earl Spencer’s bombshell claims
13:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneA royal expert has shared his thoughts on the motivations behind Earl Spencer’s “brutal” claims against Buckingham Palace.
A war of words has broken out between the royal family and Princess Diana’s brother over allegations made in his upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Revelations from the book, serialised by the Daily Mail before it is published on Tuesday (22 September), have so far focused on the King’s behaviour, from alleged statements he made to Diana before their marriage to the Earl's claims about comments the King made to him before her funeral.
Richard Fitzwilliams told The Independent he believes Earl Spencer is “haunted … by demons of himself” and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had some part to play.
”Timing all this just so happens it's just after Harry and Meghan have come back... The Sussexes, whether they actually saw the manuscript or what they knew about it, of course, I don't know. But I'm absolutely certain that there was some form of collusion or appears to have been.”
Royal expert suspects ‘collusion’ and ‘guilt’ behind Earl Spencer’s bombshell claims
King 'sounded giddily elated’ after Diana's death, book claims
12:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneKing 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.
Prince Charles ‘had no place at his his ex’s funeral’
12:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneEarl Spencer recalled his sister’s funeral as a “a form of mental torture,” stating that he believed neither Prince Charles, or Princes William and Harry should have been in attendance.
Sharing his feelings on the funeral procession, one passage read: “What was Prince Charles actually doing there? I thought at one moment.
“This ex-husband, from a marriage that had collapsed so bitterly four years before and finally ended in divorce a year earlier, surely had no place at his ex’s funeral.
“Supporting his sons was the reason given for his prominent place, but what were the boys doing there, anyway? It all seemed mad to me.
“I was anxious that I could not look sideways to check how Harry was doing. But at one point I found us marching briefly out of sight, under a massive arch. Relieved that nobody could see us here, I quickly leant across to Harry, and gave him an encouraging hug. ‘Well done, Harry!’ I said. ‘You’re doing bloody brilliantly!’”
How close was Charles Spencer to his sister Diana? Inside their complicated family bond
11:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneAs Diana’s younger brother goes to war with the palace over incendiary revelations from his new book about his sister, Katie Rosseinsky takes a closer look at their sibling relationship, from a deep childhood connection to more friction and distance in later in life.
How close was Charles Spencer to his sister Diana? Inside their complicated bond
Watch: Charles went 'ballistic' in phone call row over Diana funeral arrangements, claims Earl Spencer
11:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneDiana contemplated ‘ending it all’, memoir claims
10:40 , Nicole Wootton-CaneIn passages of his bombshell book, Earl Spencer spoke of how his sister contemplated “ending it all” before her death.
He said she drove “more than once” to the cliffs at Beachy Head in East Sussex and was “contemplating ending it all”, adding that “her love for her sons stopped her from going further”.
The book reads: “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.
“Her love for her sons stopped her from going further.”
Earl Spencer’s bombshell book claims Charles acted like a ‘lottery winner’ in hours after Diana’s death
10:20 , Nicole Wootton-CaneKing 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.
You can read more below:
Earl Spencer’s book claims Charles acted like a ‘lottery winner’ after Diana’s death
Watch:
10:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneRecap: The Queen offered to restore Diana's honorifics posthumously
09:40 , Nicole Wootton-CaneQueen Elizabeth II offered to restore Diana’s HRH title at her funeral, Earl Spencer has claimed.
The Earl wrote he rejected the late Queen’s “well-meaning” gesture to restore Diana’s HRH title posthumously as it felt like a “consolation award”. He claimed his sister was “dreadfully hurt” by the “petty and vindictive” decision to remove her title, and just hours after her funeral she offered to restore it.
“I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award,” he writes. “That's very kind of the Queen, of course. But what's the point, Robert? Now? I mean – Diana's dead.”
He said that just hours after his eulogy at Diana’s funeral, the late Queen’s private secretary Robert Fellowes beckoned him into a quiet corner of the carriage.
“I have just received a call from Her Majesty… and she would like to offer Diana her HRH title back,” he wrote Mr Fellowes as saying.
While the Earl later wondered if he was right to reject the award, he felt “the title should never have been removed during her life, in which case it would not have been necessary to offer it to her in death.”
Earl Spencer says King is 'embarrassed' by claims made in book
09:20 , Nicole Wootton-CaneEarl Spencer claimed King Charles’ statement in response to his claims over his conduct after Diana’s death showed he was “embarrassed” by his alleged behaviour.
Asked about Buckingham Palace’s response to his claims, Earl Spencer told the BBC: “Is he (the King) furious, or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
“I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life.
“I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said.”
Diana tried to break off engagement to Charles, claims Spencer's memoir
09:00 , Nicole Wootton-CanePrincess Diana tried to break off her engagement to Prince Charles after finding a bracelet that he had bought for Camilla, Earl Spencer has claimed in his memoir.
The princess had been seen in tears as she said goodbye to Charles as he left for official business, he writes, adding that newspapers believed it was “the pain of a lovestruck innocent being parted from her fiancé”.
Spencer adds: “The truth was very different. Diana was completely at sea, having found a bracelet that Prince Charles had bought for Camilla.
“A month or so after that, she became so concerned she even tried to break off their engagement. “
The book also claims that Charles told Diana that he did not love her on the eve of their wedding.
“Only much later would I discover that, as she confided to a close friend, her husband-to-be had told her the previous day that she needed to know he was very happy to marry her, but he was not actually in love with her,” Spencer wrote.
“Diana had to absorb that hammer blow while also feeling certain that Prince Charles was entering their marriage with his heart elsewhere.”
Prince Harry makes first public appearance since moving back to UK
08:40 , Nicole Wootton-CanePrince Harry made his first public appearance since moving back to the UK on Friday as he visited a school in Birmingham to mark the launch of a new Invictus Games education scheme called Inspire.
Speaking at the event, Harry declared: “It’s wonderful to be back on British soil.”
What has Buckingham Palace said about Earl Spencer's claims?
08:20 , Nicole Wootton-CaneBuckingham Palace issued a rare statement in response to claims made by Earl Spencer in his upcoming book.
The book – Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – alleges the King told Diana’s brother “we’ll forget her soon enough” after her death in 1997, and that Charles subjected the Earl to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk in her funeral procession.
A palace spokesman 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.”
Everything you need to know as fresh claims emerge from Earl Spencer's book
07:50 , Nicole Wootton-CaneEarl Spencer has doubled down on his claim that King Charles told him “we’ll forget her soon enough” during a row over the late Princess of Wales’ funeral arrangements.
In a teaser clip from an upcoming interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he said the then-Prince of Wales went “ballistic” on the call and insisted he was telling the truth.
Here are the other key claims you need to know:
• Earl Spencer said there was a “lack of obvious care” for Prince Harry following his mother’s funeral
• He also claimed Charles told him the Spencer’s had “no sense of duty” during a row over whether Harry should accompany his mother’s coffin
• Earl Spencer said he was told the late Queen Elizabeth II had offered to restore Diana’s Her Royal Highness title following her death
• Earl Spencer further claimed Elizabeth reacted “tetchily” to news of his sister having been in a car accident
Earl Spencer criticises royal family's 'lack of obvious care' for Harry after Diana's death
07:27 , Nicole Wootton-CaneIn the latest extract of the earl’s book serialised in the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer told of his memories of the funeral, and his concern for Harry, after he observed a “lack of obvious care” for the then 12-year-old prince.
Earl Spencer walked behind Diana’s coffin during the funeral procession on September 6 1997, alongside Harry, William, then 15, Charles, and the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Recounting the train journey from London to Althorp after the funeral, Earl Spencer said: “My chief memory of that train journey is of being concerned at the lack of obvious care for Harry, as he decompressed from the ghastliness of the morning.
“He needed Diana’s hugs, of course, and they would forever be denied him.
“But instead of calm and nurture, he was allowed to spin out of control.”
Earl Spencer said he could not get over how “tiny, and slight, and bereft” his nephew looked, adding he remembers thinking Harry was “too small to be doing this”.
Everything Earl Spencer said in his latest memoir passage
07:00 , Harriette BoucherFurther damaging claims about King Charles have been made in the latest excerpt from Earl Spencer’s book on Friday.
Princess Diana’s brother has insisted he is “telling the truth” as he faces backlash from Buckingham Palace over his allegations.
In his latest passage, the Earl has said a “lack of obvious care for Harry” following Diana’s death allowed him to “spin out of control”.
He also questioned why Charles was at Princess Diana’s funeral following their divorce the previous year, saying: “This ex-husband, from a marriage that had collapsed so bitterly… surely had no place at his ex’s funeral.”
Earl Spencer also wrote of how the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew the severity of the situation.
He claimed that some royal family members had “taken delight” in the removal of Diana’s HRH title.
In an interview with BBC aired on Friday, he suggested Charles was “embarrassed” about comments he made to the Earl in the days after Diana’s death.
Asked about Buckingham Palace’s response that “grief can cloud reason”, Earl Spencer told the BBC: “Is he (Charles) furious, or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
“I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life.
“I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said.“I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.”
Royal controversy dominates Saturday's papers
06:00 , Harriette Boucher
In full: Earl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ after backlash over Charles’ alleged comments on Diana’s death
05:00 , Harriette Boucher
Earl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ over explosive Diana book
Earl Spencer is ‘haunted by demons’, claims royal expert after bombshell book claims
04:00 , Harriette BoucherRoyal expert suspects ‘collusion’ and ‘guilt’ behind Earl Spencer’s bombshell claims
King went 'ballistic' during funeral procession row
03:00 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has claimed the King went “ballistic” before telling him “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”, days after Diana’s death in 1997.
In an earlier excerpt, he wrote about how he fought plans for William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession, which caused a “stream of anger” from the King.
He told BBC: “He went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened.
“And then he stopped, and I thought, ‘Oh now he’s gonna pull himself together and say something more appropriate’, and then he said, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.”
He added: “I really was so stunned, and I just, after a stunned silence, I said, ‘I cannot believe you just said that’, and I hung up on him.”
Watch: Royal expert questions timing of Earl Spencer book release
02:00 , Harriette BoucherICYMI: Queen reacted 'tetchily' to news of Diana's car crash
01:00 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has claimed the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of the severity.
“When the Queen had heard the first news of Diana’s being in a traffic accident, she had asked tetchily, ‘What is she up to now?’ This, before the seriousness of it all became clear,” he wrote in his memoir.
The Earl added: “After Diana’s death the Queen said she wanted Diana’s coffin to be placed in the royal burial ground at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle.
“But my family was determined that Diana must come home to Althorp. We knew she would have wanted to do so. Besides, having had her HRH title removed as part of the package of humiliation handed to her at her divorce, almost a year to the day before her death, Diana was no longer eligible for royal Frogmore.”
In an excerpt released yesterday, he claimed that the Queen considered restoring his sister’s Her Royal Highness title, which she lost when she divorced Charles.
“The removal of Diana’s title had hurt her. The loss was designed to emphasise to her, and the world, that her royal days were over.”
Earl Spencer's comments about late Queen are 'incredibly unpleasant'
Saturday 19 September 2026 00:00 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer’s latest comment about the Queen are “incredibly unpleasant”, a royal commentator has said.
In his most recent memoir excerpt release on Friday, the Earl said the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of the severity.
Asked if it sounded correct, Jennie Bond said told Sky News: “Look, I don’t know. This is the brother of Diana giving his version of what went on in his memory, but it is incredibly unpleasant.
“He is forthright in his condemnation of Charles and now questioning the Queen's attitude to it all.
“I find it incredibly hostile of Earl Spencer to do this. It is brutal, really, and I don’t know what his motive is and I cannot think who is going to benefit,” she said, adding: “Well, obviously his wallet will.
“What is the point of raking over this tragedy nearly 30 years on. It’s certainly isn’t I don't think what William and Harry would want.”
'We're not going to know who is telling the truth', says royal commentator
Friday 18 September 2026 23:12 , Harriette BoucherThe public is “just not going to know” who is being truthful after Earl Spencer claimed that the King said Diana would be forgotten after she died, a royal commentator has stated.
Earl Spencer insisted he was “telling the truth” in an interview with BBC on Friday following backlash from Buckingham Palace.
Reacting to the claims, Jennie Bond said: “The big question now is whether anyone is going to come forward and corroborate his version of what went on and what was said.
“If that happens, that is big trouble for the palace because essentially Earl Spencer is accusing his former brother-in-law of lying.”
It comes after Buckingham Palace responded to the Earl’s claims, saying that the King is mindful that “grief can cloud reason”.
Asked about the “unprecedented” statement from the palace, Earl Spencer said: “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?.
He added that the palace had not denied his claims.”
“They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they? They've said that recollections may vary.”
Watch: William’s new battle as uncle and brother tell their ‘Diana Truth’
Friday 18 September 2026 22:20 , Harriette BoucherAll of the claims Earl Spencer made about the King today
Friday 18 September 2026 21:52 , Harriette BoucherFurther damaging claims about King Charles have been made in the latest excerpt from Earl Spencer’s book on Friday.
Princess Diana’s brother has insisted he is “telling the truth” as he faces backlash from Buckingham Palace over his allegations.
In his latest passage, the Earl has said a “lack of obvious care for Harry” following Diana’s death allowed him to “spin out of control”.
He also questioned why Charles was at Princess Diana’s funeral following their divorce the previous year, saying: “This ex-husband, from a marriage that had collapsed so bitterly… surely had no place at his ex’s funeral.”
Earl Spencer also wrote of how the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew the severity of the situation.
He claimed that some royal family members had “taken delight” in the removal of Diana’s HRH title.
In an interview with BBC aired on Friday, he suggested Charles was “embarrassed” about comments he made to the Earl in the days after Diana’s death.
Asked about Buckingham Palace’s response that “grief can cloud reason”, Earl Spencer told the BBC: “Is he (Charles) furious, or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
“I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life.
“I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said.“I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.”
Prince Harry said 'no child' should have to walk behind their mother's coffin
Friday 18 September 2026 21:22 , Harriette BoucherPrince Harry has previously spoken about the experience of walking behind his mother’s coffin, saying no child “should be asked to do that under any circumstances”.
In an excerpt of his memoir, Earl Spencer wrote about how he fought plans for William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind their Diana’s coffin during the funeral procession.
The Earl is said to have insisted to the King that Diana would not have wanted her young sons to have made the difficult public walk.
“He went nuts. ‘That’s the problem with your family. They’ve got no bloody sense of duty!’ he started, before descending into a general rage,” Earl Spencer wrote.
In June 2017, the Duke of Sussex said: “My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television.
“I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
In his memoir, Spare, the duke said he felt “numb” as he walked behind his mother’s coffin but was nearly brought to tears while listening to Sir Elton John perform during the service.
Friday's papers lead with royal controversy
Friday 18 September 2026 20:46 , Harriette Boucher
In focus: Charles Spencer’s book is Diana’s unfinished business – Harry’s documentary will finish it
Friday 18 September 2026 20:10 , Harriette BoucherAs Buckingham Palace hits back at the claims of King Charles’s reaction to the death of Diana, Dan Wakeford, former People editor and founder of the Celebrity Intelligence website, looks at why her brother is publishing his tell-all now, and how the next 12 months will be about settling scores:
This book is Diana’s unfinished business – Harry’s documentary will finish it
Royal expert suspects 'collusion' and 'guilt' drive Earl Spencer's bombshell claims
Friday 18 September 2026 19:30 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer had 'no contact' with Charles after funeral procession spat
Friday 18 September 2026 19:16 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer said he had “no contact” with King Charles until Diana’s funeral after he allegedly told him she would be forgotten soon.
Diana’s brother claimed that in a phone call with the King after her death, Charles went “ballistic” over funeral plan disagreements, before telling him “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.
He wrote in his memoir: “I had no contact with Prince Charles since hanging up on him after he had disrespected Diana and disparaged our family’s sense of duty.”
On the day of her funeral, he said he “was shown into a sitting room where Prince Charles was seated, alone. He was polite and formal. Neither of us mentioned our phone call altercation. It was as if we had not seen or spoken to one another for an age.
“We talked about other matters – how my mother and elder sisters were coping, and the beauty of the weather that morning. That sort of thing.’
Royal family members took 'delight' in Diana's demotion
Friday 18 September 2026 19:09 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has claimed that some royal family members had “taken delight” in the removal of Diana’s HRH title.
Reflecting on her funeral in his tell-all memoir, he wrote: “I thought how some had supported her in life while others had taken delight in the demotion that had followed her divorce.
“I saw the face of Princess Michael, whom Diana had considered her ‘nightmare neighbour’ at Kensington Palace.
“She had accosted my sister after she was deprived of her HRH title, and said, with feigned kindness: ‘Don’t worry, Diana – you only need to curtsy to me when we are in public !’
“There was Princess Margaret, who had been a good ally of Diana till the Panorama interview had taken place.
“Margaret could never forgive what she viewed as an unforgivable act of treachery against the Royal Family and had chosen not to bow to Diana’s coffin when it had passed her that morning.”
Queen reacted 'tetchily' to news of Diana's car crash
Friday 18 September 2026 18:50 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has claimed the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of the severity.
“When the Queen had heard the first news of Diana’s being in a traffic accident, she had asked tetchily, ‘What is she up to now?’ This, before the seriousness of it all became clear,” he wrote in his memoir.
The Earl added: “After Diana’s death the Queen said she wanted Diana’s coffin to be placed in the royal burial ground at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle.
“But my family was determined that Diana must come home to Althorp. We knew she would have wanted to do so. Besides, having had her HRH title removed as part of the package of humiliation handed to her at her divorce, almost a year to the day before her death, Diana was no longer eligible for royal Frogmore.”
In an excerpt released yesterday, he claimed that the Queen considered restoring his sister’s Her Royal Highness title, which she lost when she divorced Charles.
“The removal of Diana’s title had hurt her. The loss was designed to emphasise to her, and the world, that her royal days were over.”
Harry plays pickleball with children as controversy continues to cloud royals
Friday 18 September 2026 18:37 , Harriette BoucherPrince Harry was out again in public today, playing pickleball with schoolchildren, as the royal family continues to be embattled by comments made by Earl Spencer.
The Duke of Sussex met with pupils at Ninestiles, an Academy, in Birmingham, to mark the launch of a new Invictus Games education scheme called Inspire.
Playing several rallies against children in Year 7 and Year 11, he joked his back was in pain after reaching for a low shot – and cried out “nice” when one of players won a point.
It comes as his father has been engulfed in a third day of controversy following the latest excerpt from Earl Spencer’s memoir.
He claimed that a “lack of obvious care for Harry” following his Diana’s death allowed the prince to “spin out of control” and said that “a more caring” hand would have helped him in the future.
The Earl has also insisted he is “telling the truth” in a interview with BBC following backlash from Buckingham Palace.
Following claims the King “sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner” after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer insisted: “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
“I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don't hear him saying he didn't say that.”
In full: Earl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ after backlash over Charles’ alleged comments on Diana’s death
Friday 18 September 2026 18:20 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ over explosive Diana book
King went 'ballistic' during funeral procession row
Friday 18 September 2026 18:07 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has claimed the King went “ballistic” before telling him “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”, days after Diana’s death in 1997.
In an earlier excerpt, he wrote about how he fought plans for William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession, which caused a “stream of anger” from the King.
He told BBC: “He went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened.
“And then he stopped, and I thought, ‘Oh now he’s gonna pull himself together and say something more appropriate’, and then he said, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.”
He added: “I really was so stunned, and I just, after a stunned silence, I said, ‘I cannot believe you just said that’, and I hung up on him.”
The top five bombshell claims from Earl Spencer’s book so far
Friday 18 September 2026 18:00 , Harriette Boucher
The top five bombshell claims from Earl Spencer’s book so far
King Charles had 'no place' at Diana's funeral
Friday 18 September 2026 17:55 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has questioned why Charles was at Princess Diana’s funeral following their divorce the previous year.
He wrote in his latest excerpt: “What was Prince Charles actually doing there?
“This ex-husband, from a marriage that had collapsed so bitterly… surely had no place at his ex’s funeral.
“Supporting his sons was the reason given for his prominent place, but what were the boys doing there, anyway? It all seemed mad to me.”
'Lack of care' led Harry 'to spin out of control' after Diana's death
Friday 18 September 2026 17:35 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has said a “lack of obvious care for Harry” following Diana’s death allowed him to “spin out of control”.
In the latest excerpt from his memoir released on Friday, the Earl said his “chief memory” after Diana’s funeral was “being concerned at the lack of obvious care for Harry, as he decompressed from the ghastliness of the morning.
“He needed Diana’s hugs, of course, and they would forever be denied him.
“But instead of calm and nurture, he was allowed to spin out of control.
“I have often looked back, reckoning that a more caring hand at such points as this would have helped him enormously in the future. Instead, he seemed so very alone in his despair and torment.”
Charles is 'embarrassed' about Earl's claims
Friday 18 September 2026 17:22 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has suggested Charles is “embarrassed” about comments the Earl claims the King made to him in the days after Diana’s death.
Asked about Buckingham Palace’s response to his claims, Earl Spencer told the BBC: “Is he (Charles) furious, or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
“I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life.
“I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said.“I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.”
Earl Spencer insists he's 'telling the truth' amid backlash
Friday 18 September 2026 17:07 , Harriette BoucherEarl Spencer has defended his controversial memoir on his late sister Diana, insisting he’s “telling the truth” about a phone call with King Charles in the days after her death.
In an excerpt of the book, the Earl claimed King Charles “sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner” on the phone with him.
He told BBC: “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.
”I've only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life.
“I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don't hear him saying he didn't say that.”
The Buckingham Palace said that the King is mindful that “grief can cloud reason” in response to the Earl’s claims.
Asked about the “unprecedented” statement from the palace, he said: “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?.
“They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they? They've said that recollections may vary.”
He said he had told his family and friends at the time what had been said “because it was so monstrous” when pressed on whether he had evidence to back up his allegations.
Kemi Badenoch backs King Charles in row
Friday 18 September 2026 16:52 , Kate DevlinConservative leader Kemi Badenoch has reacted to claims about King Charles in Earl Spencer's memoir, saying: "I have a side and it's always on the side of His Majesty".
Her comments came in an interview with the BBC Newsnight's programme, broadcast tonight at 7pm.
Asked if Earl Spencer should have kept his thoughts to himself and not published his book, she said: “It's always very difficult for me to talk about the royal family. The King is my boss, now I'm the leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition...
“So I have a side and it's always on the side of His Majesty. I would reiterate exactly what it was that the King himself had said or certainly Buckingham Palace said on his behalf.”
She went on to say that it was “very painful to lose a close member of the family, but a lot of people also experienced that loss, including His Majesty and the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry as well.”
ICYMI: Further bombshell revelations expected at 5pm
Friday 18 September 2026 16:40 , Suha KidwaiMore extracts from Earl Spencer’s controversial memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, are set to be released at 5pm.
Revelations from the book, currently being serialised by the Daily Mail before it is published next Tuesday, have already shocked the nation.
Some of the most damning excerpts that have been released so far have focused on the King’s conduct toward his former wife, Diana, before and after her death.
Read more here:
The top five bombshell claims from Earl Spencer’s book so far
