Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 20

Earl Spencer Says Harry and Meghan Face Diana-Like Press Abuse 29 Years After Her Wedding

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 20

Earl Spencer Says Harry and Meghan Face Diana-Like Press Abuse 29 Years After Her Wedding

Q: How will Buckingham Palace retaliate against the shocking claim that Charles said the world would soon forget Princess Diana?

Buckingham Palace is unlikely to “retaliate” in any dramatic public way. The clearest sign of its response is already visible: a rare, sharply worded denial aimed at undermining Earl Spencer’s account without prolonging the dispute. The palace said that, while it does not normally comment on books, “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory.” That amounts to a public rejection of Spencer’s claim that Charles said Diana would soon be forgotten. Reporting around the row suggests the palace sees the allegation as deeply out of character for the King and damaging enough to justify an unusual intervention. Beyond that, the likely palace strategy is containment rather than escalation. Buckingham Palace has given no indication of legal action or a broader public campaign. Instead, it appears to be relying on a brief formal rebuttal, supportive background briefings from royal aides and allies, and a return to normal royal engagements to avoid keeping the story alive. That approach fits past palace practice: rebut when necessary, then move on. Commentators have compared the wording to the late Queen’s “recollections may vary” response to other family disputes — a concise but pointed institutional pushback. So the most probable answer is that Buckingham Palace will not “retaliate” in a retaliatory sense. It will deny the claim, cast doubt on Spencer’s recollection, and try to deprive the allegation of further oxygen by refusing to engage further.

Q: What explosive secrets about King Charles does Earl Spencer's new memoir reveal that could shatter the Royal Family's legacy?

The memoir does not reveal proven “secrets” that shatter the monarchy; it makes a series of serious, disputed allegations about King Charles’s conduct around Diana’s death and their marriage. The most explosive claim is Earl Spencer’s assertion that, during a heated call after Diana’s 1997 death, Charles said of her, “We’ll forget her soon enough.” Spencer says the argument centered on whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin. Buckingham Palace has issued a rare rebuttal, saying grief can “cloud reason” and affect memory, and has not accepted Spencer’s account. Spencer also alleges that Charles sounded “giddily elated” and “like a lottery winner” when speaking shortly after Diana died, suggesting he seemed more focused on what her death meant for his future than on the loss itself. That, too, is Spencer’s characterization, not an established fact. Other reported claims from the book include that Charles told Diana before their wedding that he was “not actually in love with her,” and that Diana was deeply wounded by how she was treated during and after the breakdown of the marriage. Spencer also says the Queen later offered to restore Diana’s HRH title posthumously, an offer he declined. Taken together, the memoir paints a highly damaging portrait of Charles as cold, dismissive and resentful toward Diana. But these are allegations from Spencer’s perspective, and the Palace has strongly challenged at least the most incendiary passages.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 20

Earl Spencer told the BBC that Prince Harry and Meghan face media treatment with “echoes” of Princess Diana’s ordeal, calling the coverage a “cancerous influence” on their lives.
Speaking at Althorp, Diana’s brother said tabloid articles about the Sussexes can be “really, really unpleasant” and recalled seeing his sister’s “tears of despair” as criticism left her “really brought low.”
Spencer said he backs both of Diana’s sons equally, rejecting any suggestion he is only “on Harry’s side” as scrutiny of the Sussexes resurfaces after their recent UK return from California.
The remarks fit Harry and Meghan’s long-running complaints about British press treatment; Harry lost a privacy case in July that could leave him and other claimants facing up to £34.5 million in legal costs.
The interview also lands days before Spencer’s new Diana book is published and after a Palace rebuttal of his claim that King Charles said people would forget Diana “soon enough” after her 1997 death.