A new book published on Tuesday by the late Princess Diana’s brother has made headlines around the world with its explosive accusations against Diana’s former husband, now King Charles III, and has reopened wounds inflicted on the British royal family decades ago. UNN reports this, citing The Independent.
What the parties said
In the book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Charles Spencer claims that he argued with the then Prince Charles over palace plans under which Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, were expected to walk behind their mother’s coffin during her funeral procession.
Spencer said he told Charles that Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris at the age of 36, would not have wanted her sons to go through this. He claims that the prince "became furious" during the argument and told him: "Be assured, we will soon forget her." Spencer also accuses Charles of "neglecting" his former wife and of "triumphing" after her death.
After excerpts from the book were published last week, Buckingham Palace responded with a sharply worded statement, something rare by the standards of the usually restrained royals.
"His Majesty remembers that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud the mind, affect judgment and color memory in ways that others may not perceive, even many years after such a loss," the statement said.
Spencer stood by his claims, saying in an interview with the BBC that he was telling the truth. Responding to the royal family’s rebuttal, he asked: "Is he furious? Is he furious or is he ashamed?"
The war of words has once again drawn attention to the turbulent history of Charles and Diana’s relationship.
Relationship history
Charles, who was 32 at the time, married 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in a lavish ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981. The couple divorced in 1996, and ten years later Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Camilla.
Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, has long been at odds with the royal family over their treatment of his older sister.
The tensions between the palace and the Spencer family after her death were dramatized in the film "The Queen" and the Netflix series "The Crown."
In a poignant speech at his sister’s funeral, Spencer vowed that her "blood family" would continue her "creative and loving" legacy in raising her two sons. Many saw the speech as a jibe at the royal family.
At the time, many people in the United Kingdom and beyond believed that Queen Elizabeth II and members of the royal family had been too slow to respond to the worldwide outpouring of grief over Diana’s death and that the monarchy had completely failed to understand the public mood.
Charles Spencer says the press’s treatment of Harry echoes its treatment of his mother.
Charles spent decades trying to leave this period of crisis behind. The warmer, more compassionate approach of William and Harry—and, in recent years, of the king—is, the publication writes, a legacy of that time.
In his book, Spencer also criticized members of the royal family for what he called an "absence of obvious care" for the then 12-year-old Harry.
He described how "small, fragile and devastated" his nephew looked after the funeral. "He obviously needed Diana’s hugs, and they were forever unavailable to him," he wrote. "But instead of peace and care, he was allowed to spiral out of control."
Why Princess Diana’s brother wrote the book
Some critics wonder why Spencer needed to return to the pain and trauma 30 years later.
The aristocrat said he wanted to record his own thoughts and memories of Diana, "once and for all, rather than once again feeling the discomfort of reading other people’s thoughts, many of which are based on untruths."
Harry and Meghan’s story
When asked whether the relationship between the press and Harry and his wife Meghan reflects how the media treated his sister, Spencer told the BBC: "(Diana) was truly humiliated by this criticism. I think it is unfortunate that I see echoes of it now."
Penguin Press said that the book would be published worldwide and translated into 12 languages.