Earl Spencer has claimed that King Charles made a cutting remark about Princess Diana shortly after her death, alleging that the monarch “hissed” the words: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”
Diana’s brother made the allegation during a new interview with ABC News, discussing his recently released book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
According to Spencer, the exchange happened during a phone call concerning arrangements for Diana’s funeral in the aftermath of her death in 1997.
“I’ll never forget the five words ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’ — and he didn’t say it, he hissed it,” Spencer told ABC.
The claim is among a series of criticisms Spencer makes about King Charles in his book, in which he also accuses the monarch of “gaslighting” him.
The Palace has previously responded to Spencer’s allegations by saying that “fraternal grief” had clouded his judgment.
Speaking about the exchange, Spencer said he was deeply upset by what he described as a condescending response.
“It’s not everyday you’re gaslit by a King,” he said.
“I was really upset by that because I thought it was not only condescending but not straight.
“What I said was straight and true and what did they come back with? That.”
Earl Spencer says he ‘didn’t hold back’ in new book
Spencer, whose full name is also Charles Spencer, takes a strongly critical view of his relationship with the King in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
The Earl describes Charles in the book as a “petulant child” and a “bellowing buffoon”.
He also insisted during the ABC interview that he deliberately included the material he felt was necessary to tell Diana’s story.
“I didn’t hold back but, and this is not a threat, I could have gone an awful lot further,” he said.
“So, everything I say in the book is absolutely essential to the narrative and the understanding of the subject.”
Spencer said his intention was not to attack the monarchy, but to revisit Diana’s life and the reasons she remained so important to those who knew her.
“I’m not trying to damage the monarchy or whatever I’ve been accused of doing,” he said.
“I wanted to do this properly once and for all for Diana and remind those who knew her when she was alive, why they connected with her.”
In his new book, Diana’s brother claims they rowed over the phone call about funeral arrangements following her tragic crashCredit: 2007 Getty Images
Piers Morgan threatens legal action over book claims
Elsewhere, broadcaster Piers Morgan has strongly disputed allegations Spencer makes about him in the book and said he intends to take legal action.
Spencer claims that Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror at the time, “snarled with annoyance” when asked not to attend Diana’s funeral in 1997.
Morgan rejected the account, describing the claims as “demonstrable lies” and saying the book portrays him in “the most despicable manner imaginable”.
He also challenged Spencer’s account concerning photographs of Diana taken at a gym.
Morgan said the photographs referenced by Spencer had been published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993 — before Morgan joined the Daily Mirror in October 1995.
He said he was neither bitter nor angry about the dispute, but maintained that the timeline provided evidence for his version of events.
The competing accounts have added another controversy around Spencer’s new book, which he says was written to revisit Diana’s life, her death and the relationships surrounding her.