Queen Elizabeth Reportedly Made a Secret Offer About Diana on the Day of Her Funeral — But Earl Spencer Says He Turned It Down

Princess Diana died in 1997 (Image: Getty)

Nearly three decades after Princess Diana’s death, Earl Spencer has revealed what he says happened behind palace doors during one of the Royal Family’s darkest periods — including an unexpected proposal from Queen Elizabeth II on the day Diana was laid to rest.

In his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Charles Spencer claims the late Queen offered to restore Diana’s Her Royal Highness status, which she had lost following her divorce from the then-Prince Charles.

But according to Spencer, the offer never went any further.

He says he rejected it.

A Royal Title Offered Too Late

Spencer writes that he learned about the Queen’s proposal through Robert Fellowes, who was both Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary and Spencer’s brother-in-law.

According to his account, the Queen suggested restoring Diana’s HRH status on the day of her funeral in September 1997.

Spencer described the gesture as “well-meaning,” but said he regarded it as a “consolation prize” and declined the offer.

The claim adds another layer to the long-running discussion surrounding Diana’s status after her 1996 divorce.

But it is only one of several striking allegations Spencer makes about his sister’s life and the Royal Family.

Spencer Makes New Claims About Charles

The memoir has already triggered a public dispute with Buckingham Palace over Spencer’s account of conversations with the man who is now King Charles III.

Spencer alleges that days after Diana’s death, Charles told him: “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.

Buckingham Palace has disputed the broader portrayal. A palace spokesman responded earlier this week by saying that “fraternal grief can cloud reason.”

Spencer also describes receiving a telephone call from Charles following Diana’s death, claiming the then-prince sounded “giddily elated… like a lottery winner.”

That characterization is Spencer’s account of the conversation and has not been independently established.

Diana’s Private Struggles Revisited

Some of the memoir’s most personal claims concern Diana herself.

Spencer alleges that his sister once told him, “my husband is in love with his valet.”

He also writes about Diana’s struggles with an eating disorder around the period leading up to her 1981 wedding. According to Spencer, Charles once referred to Diana as “chubby.”

The memoir goes further into Diana’s emotional struggles during the later years of her life. Spencer claims that on more than one occasion she drove herself to Beachy Head in East Sussex while contemplating ending her life.

These accounts come from Spencer’s memoir and represent his recollections and claims about private events and conversations.

A New Battle Over Diana’s Memory

The revelations arrive almost 30 years after Diana died in Paris in August 1997, yet they are already reopening some of the most sensitive questions surrounding her relationship with the monarchy.

Buckingham Palace has not responded to each of Spencer’s latest allegations individually.

But perhaps the most unexpected claim concerns what allegedly happened on the very day Britain said goodbye to Diana: Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly prepared to give back the royal status Diana had lost — and her brother decided it was already too late.