Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, has revisited a telephone conversation that took place several days after her death, claiming that King Charles told him his sister “would soon be forgotten.”
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Speaking to the BBC, Spencer said he was telling the truth about the call, which, according to him, took place in August 1997, shortly after Diana’s death.
The conversation concerned whether Princes William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral ceremony. Spencer said he had opposed the idea because he believed Diana would not have wanted her children to face such a situation.
According to his account, Prince Charles, as he was known at the time, became angry and spoke at length about the responsibilities of the royal family. At the end of the conversation, Spencer claims that he said: “We’ll soon forget her.”
“I can tell you now that these were the exact words he used,” Earl Spencer said in the BBC interview.
The claim was strongly rejected by Buckingham Palace, which responded to Spencer’s new book. The Palace said the King understands that the pain of losing a sibling can affect a person’s reasoning, judgment and memory, even many years after the event.
Spencer interpreted the response as an attempt to cast doubt on his memory. “They’ve said that memories can change, haven’t they?” he said. When asked which version the public should believe, he replied: “I’m telling the truth.”
He said he had told his family and friends about the phone call at the time because Charles’s words, in his view, had been so shocking that he could not keep them to himself.
Spencer also revealed that Charles had called him after Diana’s fatal accident in Paris on 31 August 1997. According to him, Prince Charles sounded extremely cheerful, unlike the other people who had called to express their condolences.
Earl Spencer’s book, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” is expected to be published next week. The work is expected to contain strong criticism of the British royal family.
Diana died at the age of 36, causing widespread public shock in Britain. At the time, the royal family faced criticism over its response to her death and the lack of emotion displayed publicly.
Prince Harry has previously spoken about his experience of walking behind his mother’s coffin at the age of 12. He said that “no child should be forced to experience such a situation,” but later said that, after many years of reflection, he was glad he had taken part in the ceremony.
