Queen Camilla Calls for “Togetherness” as Earl Spencer’s Explosive Diana Memoir Deepens Royal Rift

Camilla spoke at the Queen’s Reading Room Festival (Image: Getty)

Queen Camilla has delivered a carefully worded message about unity as controversy surrounding Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir about Princess Diana continues to intensify.

Speaking at the Queen’s Reading Room Festival at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire on Saturday, Camilla highlighted the importance of coming “together” — just days before Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be released on September 22.

Her remarks were made as Buckingham Palace and Diana’s brother remain locked in an unusually public disagreement over Spencer’s account of King Charles’s behaviour following Diana’s death in 1997.

Camilla Makes a Plea for “Togetherness”

Addressing guests at the literary festival, Camilla recalled a proverb she had recently encountered:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Her speech itself focused on books, reading and the community created through the Queen’s Reading Room. Camilla explained that the project, launched from her love of literature, has developed into an international community reaching readers in more than 180 countries.

She also thanked writers, actors, publishers and readers for supporting its work.

Although Camilla did not mention Diana, Earl Spencer or the controversy surrounding his book, the timing of her appeal for togetherness comes amid one of the most contentious royal disputes in recent months.

Earl Spencer Refuses to Back Down

The controversy intensified after extracts from Spencer’s memoir began emerging ahead of publication.

Among his most striking allegations is his account of an argument with the then-Prince Charles following Diana’s death. Spencer claims the disagreement concerned his opposition to the young Prince William and Prince Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin.

According to Spencer, Charles became furious during the conversation before allegedly telling him: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”

Spencer has publicly stood by his recollection.

His book reportedly contains several other allegations about Charles and Diana’s relationship, including claims concerning Charles’s reaction to Diana’s death and their marriage.

Buckingham Palace Makes Rare Intervention

The Palace has responded to Spencer’s account with unusually pointed language.

While noting that it does not normally comment on books, a Palace spokesperson said King Charles was conscious 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 statement effectively challenged Spencer’s recollection without offering a detailed alternative account of the disputed conversation.

Spencer, however, has continued to insist that his version of events is accurate.

An Already Sensitive Week for the Royal Family

With Swan Song: Diana, My Sister arriving on September 22, the disagreement is unlikely to disappear immediately.

Camilla’s remarks at Chatsworth were delivered in the context of her literary work rather than as an explicit response to Spencer. Still, her emphasis on going “together” has attracted attention because it came while deeply conflicting memories of Diana’s final chapter are once again dividing those closest to the story.

Nearly three decades after Diana’s death, Spencer’s memoir has reopened arguments that the Royal Family had largely left in the past — and its full publication could bring further scrutiny.