Earl Spencer has reignited his bitter war of words with King Charles, declaring that he “knows lots of things” about the monarch but deliberately left some of them out of his explosive new memoir.
The brother of Princess Diana made the striking comment during a 30-minute BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, in which he was repeatedly challenged over his claims about the Royal Family, his relationship with Charles and whether he is profiting from his sister’s memory.
Asked about information he could have included in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer, 62, said: “I know lots of things about the King which I chose not to include in the book because they were not relevant.”
When Kuenssberg suggested that the remark could sound like a threat because the information might be damaging, Spencer rejected the suggestion.
“No, not at all a threat, it’s just the reality,” he said.
“If I was a salacious writer and wanted to write that sort of thing I have plenty of other things I could have said.”
The comments came as Spencer defended one of the most controversial claims in his memoir — that Charles appeared “giddily elated” when the pair spoke by phone after Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
According to Spencer’s account, Charles told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Spencer has also described the King during that conversation as being like a “lottery winner”.
Buckingham Palace has disputed the account, saying that “fraternal grief” can affect judgment and colour memory.
During the BBC interview, Kuenssberg pressed Spencer on whether he could really be certain that Charles meant what he believed he heard in the King’s voice.
Spencer admitted he could not.
“I cannot be sure,” he said. “I’m saying that’s what I assume from the tone is a possibility and that’s all I can do.”
Asked about the Palace’s position that his version of events was inaccurate, Spencer pushed back.
“Well they haven’t actually, Laura,” he said.
“They’ve sort of smudged that one, haven’t they?”
He then referred to the Palace’s response to claims made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, arguing that the institution had previously used the phrase “recollections may vary”.
Kuenssberg read the Palace statement to him and pointed out that Charles was “plainly furious”.
Spencer responded: “Well is he furious, or is he embarrassed?”
“Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.”
He added that he had not heard Charles personally deny saying them.
Spencer says Diana’s funeral speech was a response
Spencer also linked his account of the private conversation with Charles to the eulogy he delivered at Diana’s funeral.
He said part of the speech was intended as a direct response to what he claims Charles had told him about forgetting Diana.
“I really stress Diana’s sense of duty,” Spencer said.
“If you get to the final bit of my eulogy, it is that her fantastic qualities ‘will never be extinguished from our minds’.”
He described that as “a direct rebuttal” of the alleged remark: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”
At one point, Kuenssberg asked a pointed question because Spencer himself is also named Charles.
“Which Charles are the public meant to believe?” she asked.
“Well, I’m telling the truth,” he replied.
When she suggested that this meant the monarch was misleading the public, Spencer said: “I can hardly be responsible for what Buckingham Palace says.”
The Earl has maintained that his memoir is intended as a tribute to his sister and an attempt to put his recollections on record.
“I wanted to put things down once and for all that were true,” he said.
Earl Spencer’s memoir Swan Song: Diana, My SisterCredit: PA
He says William and Harry will not be surprised
Spencer also brought Princes William and Harry into the discussion, saying that his revelations would not come as a surprise to them.
Asked what Diana’s two sons might make of the claims, he said: “Well, I don’t like to talk about what I’ve been speaking about to William and Harry, but this will not be a surprise to them.”
The Earl later addressed the brothers’ long-running feud and what he believes their mother would think about their fractured relationship.
“As an uncle I hope one day it’s resolved,” he said.
“But I certainly don’t know what’s been done in the finer detail.
“And so I’d feel intrusive if I got more involved other than to say of course a mother would want her two sons to be happy together and love each other.”
Spencer also discussed Harry’s long-running dispute over police protection in Britain.
“I personally worry about the fifth in line to the throne who served in the military not having police protection,” he said.
“As an uncle who has seen his sister die in very, very preventable circumstances… I would veer towards protection.”
Questions over money and the memoir
Spencer was also challenged over whether the controversy surrounding Swan Song could help drive sales.
Kuenssberg pointed out that some readers might believe the allegations were included partly to generate interest in the book.
“Some people listening will wonder if you are including some of these allegations in order to create interest to sell your book, perhaps,” she said. “You may be accused of that, you know that.”
Spencer replied that he had “been accused of lots of things” before insisting that the memoir was written as a “loving tribute to a sister”.
He did not directly answer questions about the money he is expected to receive from the book.
He has previously faced criticism over claims that he has profited from Diana’s legacy, while reports have put his advance for Swan Song at at least £750,000.
The question of whether his memoir amounts to commercial exploitation has therefore become another part of the controversy surrounding its publication.
‘Not an Oprah moment’, says Sun royal editor
In a commentary accompanying the interview, The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson argued that Spencer’s appearance went beyond simply remembering Diana.
Wilkinson said Spencer appeared genuinely emotional when discussing his sister but spent much of the interview defending his accusations against the Royal Family.
He also focused on Spencer’s statement that he knew additional information about Charles but had chosen not to publish it.
The comment was compared with remarks previously made by Prince Harry about having enough material for further books, as well as Meghan Markle’s decision during her Oprah interview not to identify the person she said had made comments about the colour of Archie’s skin.
Wilkinson described Spencer’s BBC appearance as seeming less like a tribute to Diana and more like an attempt to justify his allegations.
Spencer, who has been married four times, also described himself as a “benign” figure in the relationship between William and Harry.
Harry visited Althorp with his family in July, while William is not believed to be close to his uncle.
Spencer promises this is his final word
Despite the controversy, Spencer insisted that Swan Song would mark the end of his public discussion of Diana and the Royal Family.
At the end of the interview, he became tearful as he described the book as his final statement.
“This is my final take on the situation,” he said.
“This is my swan song too. I’m not here to bang on about Diana. This is my final word, a celebration of her, and I will step off into the sunset now and not be available for comment.”
Asked whether some family secrets are better left untold, Spencer gave a revealing answer.
“They certainly are,” he said.
“They have been left unsaid.”
With Swan Song: Diana, My Sister now at the centre of renewed scrutiny of the Spencer family’s relationship with the Royal Family, his claim that he still holds further information about King Charles is likely to ensure that the argument surrounding Diana’s legacy continues well beyond the memoir’s publication.