King Charles Issues a Rare Personal Response to His Former Brother-in-Law’s Claims About Diana’s Death — His Full Statement

Four copies were stolen off a truck before the book even reached stores. Inside are two phone calls Charles Spencer says he has never been able to shake.

Princess Diana’s brother is about to publish his deeply personal account of the devastating days surrounding her death, and one passage has already achieved something almost unheard of: It prompted a direct response from Buckingham Palace.

The King’s words were carefully chosen and, for a household that never comments on books, unusually pointed. Spencer heard them — and within hours, he had an answer of his own.

The Midnight Call That Turned Charles Spencer’s World Upside Down

In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir published by the Daily Mail, Spencer recalled being at his home in Cape Town with his four children when the telephone beside his bed rang in the middle of the night.

His sister Jane told him Diana, whom the Spencer family called “Duch” as a childhood nickname for Duchess, had been involved in a car crash in Paris. At first, the news did not sound catastrophic.

Spencer was told Diana had suffered an injury that might be a broken leg, but apparently nothing more serious. Jane’s husband, Robert Fellowes, was Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary at the time.

Because of his position, Spencer believed Fellowes would have access to reliable information. Still, Spencer went downstairs and turned on the television. However, the seriousness of the crash had not yet become clear.

As the night dragged on, however, the news grew increasingly grim. Spencer and Jane remained in frequent contact, and it was confirmed that Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and the car’s driver, Henri Paul, had died on impact.

During what Spencer recalls as perhaps his fifth or sixth conversation with Jane, he heard Fellowes reacting to information on another line in the background. Then came the words that changed everything: Jane told him Diana was dead.

Spencer wrote that, after hours of waiting and increasingly grim updates, the reality was immediately clear to him: the paparazzi had recklessly endangered Diana’s life, with Fayed and Paul also dying in the crash.

His telephone kept ringing as news of Diana’s death spread around the world. One of those calls, he claims, came from Prince Charles.

Spencer Describes the Future King’s First Call

According to Spencer, the other people who contacted him were stunned and struggled to express their condolences. He described Prince Charles’ manner differently. The future King sounded “giddily elated” during their conversation.

Spencer went further in his memoir, writing that Charles sounded like a lottery winner to him at the time. Then-Prince Charles told him that he had informed William and Harry about their mother’s death that morning in their bedrooms at Balmoral.

Spencer characterized that part of their conversation as matter-of-fact. He also offered his own interpretation of what he heard. Looking back, Spencer suspects Prince Charles’ initial thoughts may have involved what Diana’s death meant for his future and the possibility of marrying the woman he loved.

Before long, the two brothers-in-law would speak again, this time amid an increasingly bitter disagreement over Diana’s funeral.

Diana’s Funeral Became a Source of Conflict

Spencer became his family’s point of contact for Diana’s funeral arrangements. Once it was decided that the service would become a major national ceremony, he said Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles’ office took the lead.

According to Spencer, Diana’s family was expected to follow decisions coming from royal officials despite her divorce from Charles. One early disagreement involved music. Spencer said his sisters knew Diana had wanted Mozart’s “Requiem” played at her funeral.

He claimed he was told that no portion of a requiem could be played at a Church of England funeral, something he later learned was incorrect. Spencer also described tensions between the Queen’s operation at Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles’ household at St. James’s Palace.

He says he did not deal directly with members of the Royal Family over many of the funeral arrangements. Instead, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Ross, then comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, served as a key contact.

Spencer recalled Ross as courteous and said he believed the official’s condolences over Diana’s death were sincere. Then Ross raised the issue that would lead to the second alleged call from Prince Charles.

William and Harry Became the Center of the Dispute

Spencer says Ross informed him that it had been decided William and Harry would walk behind their mother’s coffin, which he immediately objected. At that point, Spencer knew Diana had named him as her sons’ guardian.

He acknowledged that the designation had no legal function while their other parent was alive, but said it made him feel able to speak on Diana’s behalf regarding the boys. Spencer believed Diana would never have wanted her sons to endure such a painfully public ordeal.

According to his account, Ross replied that the Prince of Wales had said the boys would participate. Spencer again refused. He recalls that Ross ended the conversation, but only a few minutes passed before Spencer’s direct telephone line rang. Prince Charles was on the other end.

The Explosive Words Spencer Says He Never Forgot

Spencer said Prince Charles confronted him over his objections to the funeral arrangements. When the discussion turned specifically to William and Harry walking behind Diana’s coffin, Spencer reiterated that he believed Diana would never have wanted it.

According to Spencer, Charles pointed out that he had walked at Lord Mountbatten’s funeral. Spencer responded that Charles had been 30 at the time and Mountbatten had not been his mother. The conversation then escalated, according to the memoir.

Prince Charles criticized the Spencer family’s sense of duty. Spencer claimed Prince Charles eventually stopped speaking, only to deliver a remark that has become the central allegation surrounding the forthcoming memoir.

“Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!” Spencer quoted him as saying. Spencer was stunned for several seconds before replying that he could not believe Charles had said it. He then hung up.

Behind the Funeral Procession, More Questions Were Brewing

Spencer said he later heard from a friend in Downing Street that senior members of the Queen’s and Prince Charles’ households had discussed who should walk behind Diana’s coffin. According to his account, Prince Charles wanted to participate.

Sir Robin Janvrin, then the Queen’s deputy private secretary, told the funeral planning committee that if Prince Charles walked, Spencer should be persuaded to accompany him. Spencer claimed there was concern that members of the public could shout abuse at Prince Charles if he walked alone.

He further alleged that planners believed William and Harry’s presence would prevent such an incident. The day before the funeral, Ross contacted Spencer again.

This time, Spencer was told William and Harry had decided they wanted to walk behind their mother’s coffin as long as their grandfather, Prince Philip, walked with them. Spencer accepted that arrangement, but made a handwritten note specifying that he agreed only if the boys were not being forced into it.

Ross assured him they were not. On September 6, 1997, Prince William and Prince Harry ultimately walked in the funeral procession alongside Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Spencer.

Now 29 years later, Spencer’s account of the conversations surrounding those days has brought the episode back into public view. And this time, Buckingham Palace responded.

Buckingham Palace Makes a Rare Intervention

Spencer’s claims drew a rare response from the Palace ahead of the September 22 publication of “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.” A Buckingham Palace representative gave Page Six a statement addressing the memoir.

The response did not provide a point-by-point account of the alleged calls. Instead, it challenged the reliability of Spencer’s recollections by referring to the effect grief can have on memory and judgment.

“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

The statement does not directly say that King Charles never made the alleged remark. Spencer quickly focused on that distinction when publicly defending his account.

Spencer Stands by Every Word

Spencer addressed the Palace response during a BBC interview, questioning what lay behind the unusually personal wording. “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you here and now those are exactly the words he said,” Spencer said.

He maintained that his recollection was precise because he had spoken with Charles on the telephone only twice in his life.

“I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life. I was hyper alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words that he said, and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that,” Spencer said.

Asked whether he had evidence supporting his version, Spencer said he told people close to him about the conversation immediately afterward. “I told friends and family straight away, close friends and family about what had been said because it was so monstrous,” he said.

Spencer also characterized the Palace response as an attempt to blur the dispute rather than issue a direct denial. “They’ve sort of smudged that one, haven’t they? They’ve said that recollections may vary,” he said.

When asked which Charles the public should believe, Spencer gave a short answer: “I’m telling the truth.”

The Memoir Is Days From Publication

“Swan Song: Diana, My Sister” is scheduled for release on September 22, 2026. The book has already encountered an unusual incident before reaching stores. According to Page Six, four copies were reportedly stolen from a truck transporting them to a warehouse for distribution in the Netherlands.

The driver had parked the truck overnight and discovered the break-in after waking. The episode comes as the book’s claims about Diana’s death and funeral arrangements receive attention before its official publication.

For now, the dispute rests on two sharply different positions: Spencer insists he remembers King Charles’ words precisely, while Buckingham Palace says grief can affect judgment and memory even decades after a loss.