Spencer memoir alleges King Charles reaction to Diana death

Charles Spencer's memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister was published on September 22, 2026, alleging that King Charles III reacted with giddily elated delight to the news of Princess Diana's death in a 1997 phone call and later hissed, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough." Buckingham Palace rejected the account before the book's release, issuing a statement saying that "the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss." The palace did not directly deny the specific allegations. Spencer, 62, has stood by his account. In a BBC interview, he said, "I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said," adding that he was hyper alert during the conversation. He told another outlet that the palace statement was "astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I'd lied without the King being able to deny what I'd said." Spencer said he wrote the book out of duty as an eyewitness to history, timed to the 30th anniversary of Diana's death. He has said the memoir also serves as his own swan song.