Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, has revisited one of the most controversial episodes following her death, insisting that King Charles told him his sister “would soon be forgotten.”
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During an interview with the BBC, Spencer said he was telling the truth about a phone call he says he received several days after Diana’s death, in August 1997.
According to his account, the conversation focused on whether Princes William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral ceremony. Spencer said he opposed the idea because he believed Diana would not have wanted her children to face such a situation.
He says that Prince Charles, the title he held at the time, reacted angrily and spoke at length about the royal family’s responsibility. In the end, according to Spencer, he said: “We’ll soon forget.”
“I can tell you now that these are the exact words he used,” Earl Spencer told the BBC.
Following claims published in Spencer’s new book, Buckingham Palace reacted strongly. The palace said that the King understands that “the pain of losing a sibling can affect reasoning, judgment and memory,” even many years after their death.
Spencer interpreted the response as an attempt to cast doubt on his memory.
“They have said that memories can change, haven’t they?” he said. When asked which version the public should believe, he gave a direct answer: “I am telling the truth.”
Diana’s brother says he told family members and friends about the phone call at the time because, in his view, Charles’s words were so shocking that he could not keep them to himself.
Spencer has also said that Charles called him after Diana’s fatal accident in Paris on 31 August 1997. According to him, the future king sounded extraordinarily happy, unlike the other people who had called to offer their condolences.
Earl Spencer’s book, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” is due to be published next week and is expected to contain harsh criticism of the British royal family.
Diana’s death, at the age of 36, caused widespread shock among the British public. At the time, the royal family was criticized for its response to the loss and for not displaying emotion publicly.
Prince Harry has previously spoken about the moment when, at the age of 12, he walked behind his mother’s coffin. He said that “no child should be forced to experience such a situation,” but later said that, looking back on the event many years afterward, he was glad he had taken part in the ceremony.
