King Charles Fires Back at Charles Spencer Over Claim He Said Royal Family Would 'Forget' Princess Diana After Her Tragic Death
King Charles issued a powerful statement about sensaitonal claims made by the late Princess Diana's brother in a new memoir.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
King Charles III made the move of publicly firing back at an explosive claim from his former brother-in-law about what the monarch allegedly said in the aftermath of ex-wife Princess Diana's tragic death, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Earl Charles Spencer alleged in his upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, that during a furious phone call in the days after Diana's 1997 death in a Paris car crash, the then-Prince of Wales fumed that the royal family would "forget" the People's Princess "soon enough."
King Charles Claimed Charles Spencer's 'Fraternal Grief' Clouded His 'Reason' and 'Memory'
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of the King about claims made in Charles Spencer's memoir.
After the Daily Mail published a bombshell excerpt from Spencer's book on Wednesday, September 16, Buckingham Palace was quick to fire off a response.
"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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss," the statement read.
The response echoed Queen Elizabeth II's famously frosty declaration that “recollections may vary” after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a series of bombshell claims about their alleged mistreatment within the royal family during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
King Charles and Charles Spencer Fought Over Princess Diana's Funeral Procession
King Charles and Charles Spencer fought over whether Diana's teenage sons should walk behind her funeral procession.
Spencer claimed in the book that he and Charles had a blow-up over the phone about whether or not his and Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who were 15 and 12 at the time, should walk behind their mother's funeral procession through London.
He claimed one of the queen's aides told him about the plan days before Diana's September 6, 1997 funeral, and Spencer fired back, "That’s not going to happen" about the boys.
Diana's brother opposed the move, saying she never would have wanted her young sons to endure something so painful and public, but quickly got a call from Charles.
The then-prince pushed back and pointed out that he had walked behind the coffin of his beloved great-uncle Lord Mountbatten, affectionately known to him as “Uncle Dickie, 18 years earlier.
King Charles Allegedly Showed 'Pent-Up Contempt for Diana'
Charles Spencer made the bombshell claims about the King in his new memoir.
Spencer said Charles "went nuts" when he pointed out that the then-Prince of Wales was 30 years old at the time of the 1979 funeral, unlike his teen and sons.
"Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped," William and Harry's uncle wrote.
"I assumed the pause signaled an effort to bring himself under control, but then 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," he continued.
Spencer alleged Charles "hissed" at him, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough!"
The author claimed he was left "so stunned" by the cruel comment, telling Charles, "I can’t believe you just said that," before hanging up.
King Charles Got His Way
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King Charles and Princess Diana were ordered by the queen to divorce in 1995.
Charles and Diana separated in 1992, but their crumbling marriage finally reached the point of no return in 1995, when Queen Elizabeth urged the warring couple to divorce after they aired explosive allegations about infidelity in separate, nationally televised interviews.
Their divorce was finalized in 1996, one year before Diana's death.
Ultimately, William and Harry joined their father, Spencer, and the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, as the men walked behind Diana's coffin as the carriage made its way from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.
