Nearly three decades after
Princess Diana’s death, a private conversation allegedly held in the
emotionally charged days following her death has reopened questions about her
relationship with King Charles III.
The claim comes from Diana’s
brother, Charles Spencer, whose forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is being
published on September 22, 2026. Excerpts serialized ahead of publication
describe an alleged telephone conversation between Spencer and Charles, then
the Prince of Wales, in which Spencer says Charles made a striking comment
about Diana’s memory.
But there is another side to the
story.
A former communications secretary
to Charles has publicly challenged the characterization, saying it does not
resemble the attitude he witnessed from the future king years later. Buckingham
Palace has also issued an unusually direct response, suggesting that grief can
affect memory and judgment.
The result is a rare modern royal family controversy
involving competing recollections of one of the most consequential periods in
British royal history.
And at its center is a question
that remains impossible to answer with certainty:
What exactly was said between
Charles and Diana’s brother in the days after her death?
A Conversation Frozen in 1997
Princess Diana died in Paris on
August 31, 1997, after a car crash.
Her death transformed the British
royal family and produced an extraordinary worldwide response.
In the days that followed,
attention focused not only on Diana herself but also on her sons, Prince
William and Prince Harry, who were then teenagers, and on the difficult
decisions surrounding her funeral.
According to Spencer's account in Swan Song, one of
those decisions became the subject of a tense telephone conversation between
himself and Charles.
Spencer claims the discussion
concerned whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother's coffin
during the funeral procession.
The two boys were 15 and 12
respectively.
They ultimately did participate in
the procession from St James's Palace to Westminster Abbey, an event that
remains one of the most recognizable images of Diana's funeral.
But Spencer says he strongly
opposed the idea at the time.
It was against that background, he
writes, that the alleged conversation with Charles became heated.
Princess Diana
and Prince Charles in October 1991.
Credits:
Getty
Charles Spencer's Version of the Call
Spencer's account is a personal
recollection published nearly 29 years after the events.
According to excerpts reported
ahead of the memoir's release, he describes Charles as becoming angry during
the discussion over the funeral procession.
Spencer says Charles referred to
his own experience of walking behind the coffin of his great-uncle, Lord
Mountbatten, in 1979.
Spencer then pointed out that
Charles had been an adult at the time, whereas William and Harry were still
children.
According to Spencer's
recollection, the conversation became increasingly emotional.
He then says Charles made the
remark that has now become the focus of the controversy: that Diana would
eventually be forgotten.
Spencer says he was stunned by
what he heard.
The precise wording and
circumstances are important because this is not a newly discovered recording or
contemporaneous document.
It is a recollection published
decades later in a memoir.
That distinction has become
central to the response from the Palace.
Why the Timing Matters
The alleged conversation
reportedly occurred before Diana's funeral on September 6, 1997.
The timing was significant.
Charles was dealing with the death
of his former wife while also facing intense public scrutiny over the future of
his two sons and the unprecedented public reaction to Diana's death.
Spencer was simultaneously dealing
with the loss of his sister and concerns over William and Harry.
The circumstances therefore
involved profound grief on both sides.
That context does not establish
whether Spencer's recollection is accurate.
But it helps explain why the new
claim has generated renewed interest in the Diana and Charles relationship, even
after decades of biographies, documentaries and interviews.
A Former Royal Aide Remembers Something Different
Julian Payne offers a contrasting
perspective.
Payne served as director of
communications for Charles and Queen Camilla for five years beginning in 2016.
That period included the 20th
anniversary of Diana's death in 2017, when worldwide media attention again
focused heavily on her life, marriage and legacy.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Payne
said he did not recognize the characterization of Charles contained in
Spencer's account.
According to reporting on his
remarks, Payne recalled that Charles was emphatic that Diana's memory should be
respected and that staff should not criticize her or push back against
narratives that were critical of him.
That recollection is significant
because it concerns Charles nearly two decades after Diana's death.
But it also has limitations.
Payne was not claiming to have
witnessed the 1997 telephone call.
His comments instead describe what
he personally observed while working for Charles many years later.
Those are two different pieces of
evidence.
Princess Diana on
June 17, 1997.
Credits:
Getty
The Palace Makes an Unusual Intervention
Buckingham Palace generally does
not respond to every claim made in royal biographies or memoirs.
That made its response to the
Spencer allegations particularly notable.
The Palace said that, as a matter
of principle, it does not comment on books.
It nevertheless issued a statement
concerning the circumstances surrounding Spencer's recollection.
The response suggested that grief
can influence memory, judgment and how past events are remembered over time.
That wording was carefully
constructed.
The Palace did not provide a
detailed reconstruction of the alleged conversation.
Nor did it offer a transcript or
independent evidence disproving Spencer's account.
Instead, it raised the broader
issue of how memories formed during traumatic periods can change or be
interpreted differently many years later.
That distinction is important when
evaluating historical claims based primarily on personal recollection.
Why This Story Has Returned Nearly 30 Years Later
Diana's death has remained one of
the most extensively documented episodes in modern British royal history.
Thousands of pages have been
written about her marriage, divorce, relationship with Charles, relationship
with the royal institution and influence on William and Harry.
Yet private conversations remain
largely inaccessible.
There is rarely a recording,
official transcript or complete contemporaneous record of what family members
said to each other behind closed doors.
That creates a recurring pattern
in royal history.
A participant eventually publishes
a memoir.
A previously private conversation
is described.
Another participant or former aide
disputes the interpretation.
The public is left comparing
recollections rather than examining a definitive recording.
The current controversy follows
that pattern closely.
The Funeral Became a Defining Moment
Whatever was said privately, the
funeral procession became a defining moment for the young princes.
William and Harry walked behind
their mother's coffin alongside Charles Spencer, King Charles, Prince Philip
and other members of the family.
The image was broadcast around the
world.
For many viewers, it became one of
the most emotionally powerful moments of Diana's funeral.
Decades later, both William and
Harry have spoken publicly about the experience of losing their mother and
growing up in the aftermath.
That history adds another layer to
the renewed debate over whether the decision for them to walk behind the coffin
was appropriate.
Spencer's memoir revisits that
decision from the perspective of Diana's brother.
The Palace response, meanwhile,
emphasizes the difficulty of assessing private conversations formed during an
extraordinary period of grief.
Prince Philip,
Prince William, Charles Spencer, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles walking behind
Princess Diana’s coffin.
Credits:
Getty
The Difference Between Memory and Historical Record
One of the most important
questions raised by the dispute is how historians should treat personal
memories.
A memoir can provide valuable
firsthand information.
It can also contain
interpretations shaped by emotion, later events and the passage of time.
Neither automatically makes a
recollection true or false.
In this case, Spencer was
personally involved in the events he describes.
Payne, however, provides a later
account based on his experience working for Charles years afterward.
The Palace offers another
interpretation.
These accounts should therefore be
distinguished rather than combined into one supposedly established version of
events.
That is especially important when
dealing with royal
history, where private conversations often become public only
decades later.
Charles and Diana's Complicated Legacy
The marriage between Charles and
Diana had already undergone enormous public scrutiny before Diana's death.
Their separation in 1992 was
followed by years of intense media coverage.
Their divorce was finalized in
1996, just one year before Diana died.
By the time of her death, they
were no longer married.
Yet they remained connected
through William and Harry.
That meant Charles was
simultaneously dealing with the death of his former wife and the loss
experienced by his children.
Diana's enormous public popularity
also meant that the royal family's response to her death was being examined
constantly.
Every decision attracted
attention.
Every gesture was interpreted.
And every apparent silence became
part of the public conversation.
A Source Close to Charles Offers Another Explanation
A person described as close to the
king has also rejected the characterization of Charles's alleged reaction.
According to reporting, the source
said the alleged remark was inconsistent with Charles's character and described
him as deeply affected by Diana's death.
Again, this is an attributed claim
rather than independently established fact.
It nevertheless illustrates the
divide surrounding the memoir.
Spencer's account presents one
interpretation of Charles's behavior.
People associated with Charles
have presented another.
Neither side has produced a
recording of the alleged telephone conversation.
That leaves the central historical
question unresolved.
Did Charles Really Want Diana's Memory Forgotten?
The most provocative element of
Spencer's account is the suggestion that Charles wanted Diana's memory to fade
quickly.
Yet Payne's recollection of
Charles's behavior nearly two decades later points in the opposite direction.
Payne says Charles was explicit
that staff should not criticize Diana or undermine her memory.
This contrast is one reason the
controversy has attracted such attention.
If Spencer's recollection is
accurate, it would describe an intensely personal moment shortly after Diana's
death.
If Payne's recollection is
accurate, it would indicate that Charles's later approach to Diana's legacy was
markedly different.
It is also possible for people to
behave differently during moments of extreme grief than they do years later.
That is precisely why the
circumstances surrounding the alleged conversation matter.
Prince Charles
and Princess Diana in Seoul, South Korea in 1992.
Credits:
Getty
The 2017 Anniversary Put Diana Back at the Center
Payne's experience in 2017 is
especially relevant because the 20th anniversary of Diana's death generated
enormous renewed attention.
Television documentaries revisited
her life.
Newspaper archives were examined.
Royal historians reassessed her
influence.
William and Harry participated in
projects connected to their mother's legacy.
Charles, meanwhile, faced renewed
public discussion about his former marriage.
According to Payne, Charles's
instructions to his communications team were clear: Diana's memory should be
treated respectfully.
That recollection now provides a
striking contrast with Spencer's description of the 1997 conversation.
What the Palace Statement Actually Establishes
The Palace response should also be
considered carefully.
It establishes that Buckingham
Palace was prepared to make an unusual public intervention over the memoir's
account.
It does not independently
establish what happened during the telephone call.
Likewise, Spencer's memoir
establishes that he remembers the conversation in a particular way.
It does not independently prove
the precise words used.
This distinction is essential when
separating documented
royal history from retrospective personal testimony.
The current dispute is therefore
best understood as a clash of recollections rather than a newly verified
historical transcript.
Why Charles Spencer's Memoir Matters
Charles Spencer has spent decades
writing and speaking about Diana.
His memoir is therefore
significant not simply because it contains a new allegation, but because it
represents his own attempt to revisit one of the defining periods of his life.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is scheduled for publication on
September 22, 2026.
The excerpts released before
publication have already generated substantial attention because they revisit
private family events surrounding Diana's death and funeral.
More material from the book may
provide additional context.
Until then, the public is largely
working with excerpts and responses from people connected to the story.
A Royal Family Story That Still Has No Simple Ending
Almost 29 years after Diana died,
her influence remains deeply embedded in the British royal family's public
identity.
William and Harry were shaped by
her death.
Charles's relationship with Diana
remains a defining part of his biography.
Camilla's eventual role as queen
is also inseparable from the history of Charles and Diana.
And Diana herself remains one of
the most recognizable figures in modern royal history.
That is why a single alleged
conversation can generate such extraordinary interest decades later.
It is not simply about one
sentence.
It is about competing memories of
a moment when a family was grieving under unprecedented public pressure.
What Can Be Established — and What Remains Disputed
Several facts are not in dispute.
Diana died in Paris on August 31,
1997.
William and Harry participated in
her funeral procession.
Charles Spencer was closely
involved with Diana's family and funeral arrangements.
Julian Payne later worked as
communications director for Charles and Camilla.
The 2026 memoir contains Spencer's
recollection of an alleged conversation with Charles.
Buckingham Palace has responded to
the claim.
The remaining question is the most
personal one: exactly what Charles said during that private telephone
conversation.
That cannot currently be
established from the publicly available material with the same certainty as the
documented events surrounding Diana's death and funeral.
The Memory of Diana Continues
The latest controversy
demonstrates why Diana's story remains so powerful.
Her death happened nearly three
decades ago, but new memoirs, interviews and archival material continue to
reshape public discussions about her life.
For Charles Spencer, the memoir
provides an opportunity to record his version of events.
For people who worked with King
Charles, it provides an opportunity to challenge parts of that recollection.
And for historians, it creates
another example of the difficulty of reconstructing private events from
memories formed during extraordinary circumstances.
The most striking element may
therefore be what remains unknown.
The alleged conversation lasted
only a short time.
Its effects, however, have lasted
decades.
And with Swan Song: Diana, My Sister
due to be published on September 22, the debate over what happened in those
emotionally charged days of 1997 is unlikely to end with the first excerpt.
Nearly three decades later, Princess Diana's legacy
continues to generate questions—not only about how the world remembers her, but
about how the people closest to her remember one of the most difficult periods
in modern royal history.
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