Nearly three decades after
Princess Diana’s death, a new memoir has reopened one of the most emotionally
charged chapters in the history of the British royal family.
Charles Spencer, Diana’s younger
brother and the 9th Earl Spencer, has revisited the events surrounding her
death in his forthcoming book, Swan
Song: Diana, My Sister. Among the book’s most controversial claims
are allegations about conversations with the then-Prince Charles in the days
after Diana died in Paris in 1997.
Reports have since suggested that
the revelations have caused anger within the royal family, including claims
about Prince William’s reaction.
But there is an important
distinction between what has been documented and what remains unconfirmed.
William has not publicly addressed
the memoir or confirmed the reports about his feelings toward his uncle’s book.
What is confirmed is that the
memoir has prompted a rare response from Buckingham Palace, which questioned
whether grief may have affected memories of events nearly 30 years ago.
That leaves a larger question at
the heart of the controversy:
Why has a book about events from
1997 suddenly reopened such a sensitive chapter for the royal family in 2026?
The Memoir Arrives at a Sensitive Moment
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is scheduled for publication on
September 22, 2026.
Charles Spencer has described the
book as an effort to record his own memories of his sister and the events
surrounding her life and death.
The memoir covers Diana’s
childhood, her marriage to Charles, her role as a mother and the extraordinary
circumstances surrounding her death.
But excerpts released ahead of
publication have placed particular attention on the days immediately following
the Paris crash.
Spencer recounts conversations
involving members of the royal family and describes his own concerns about how
William and Harry were treated after losing their mother.
The revelations have generated
renewed discussion about Princess
Diana’s legacy, the relationship between the Spencer family and
the Windsors, and the lasting impact of the events of 1997.
William is
reportedly furious with his uncle (Credit: Photo by Victoria
Jones/Shutterstock)
Why Prince William Has Been Drawn Into the Story
The reports concerning William are
based on claims from unnamed sources rather than a public statement from the
Prince himself.
That matters.
There is currently no public
confirmation from William saying that he is furious with Spencer or objecting
to the memoir.
Instead, the reports describe an
alleged private reaction to a deeply personal family story.
That reaction would be
understandable as a subject of public interest given William’s age when Diana
died.
He was 15.
His brother Harry was 12.
Both were suddenly confronted with
the death of their mother while the world was watching.
Their participation in Diana’s
funeral procession became one of the most recognizable images of the 1997 royal
crisis.
Spencer's memoir revisits that
decision from the perspective of Diana's brother.
The result is inevitably connected
to William and Harry, even though neither brother is responsible for the claims
being published.
The Funeral Decision That Started Another Debate
One of the central issues in
Spencer’s account concerns the decision to have William and Harry walk behind
Diana’s coffin.
According to Spencer, he opposed
the idea because he believed the boys were too young to endure such an
extraordinary public ordeal.
William was 15.
Harry was 12.
The funeral procession
nevertheless went ahead with both princes walking alongside their father,
grandfather and uncle.
The moment was watched by millions
around the world.
For decades, it has remained a
subject of discussion in books, documentaries and interviews about Diana’s
death and the royal family.
Spencer now provides his own
account of the arguments surrounding that decision.
His recollection is personal
testimony rather than an independently recorded transcript, and that
distinction has become increasingly important as the Palace has responded.
What Spencer Claims About King Charles
The most widely reported
allegation concerns a private telephone conversation between Spencer and the
then-Prince Charles.
Spencer says the discussion became
heated while they were discussing Diana’s funeral arrangements.
He claims Charles made a remark
suggesting that Diana would eventually be forgotten.
Spencer says he was shocked by the
comment.
He also makes other claims about
Charles’s reaction to Diana’s death.
These are allegations contained in
Spencer’s memoir and should not be treated as independently established facts.
Buckingham Palace has pushed back
against the account.
Earl Spencer has
penned a new book about his sister (Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Buckingham Palace Breaks With Its Usual Approach
The Palace response has become one
of the most notable parts of the controversy.
Buckingham Palace generally does
not comment on books as a matter of principle.
This time, however, it issued a
statement addressing the circumstances surrounding Spencer’s recollection.
The Palace said the King was
mindful that grief
can affect reason, judgment and memory, particularly many years
after a loss.
The wording did not provide a
detailed alternative version of the telephone conversation.
Instead, it questioned the
reliability of memories formed during a period of profound grief.
That approach allows the Palace to
challenge the account without attempting to reconstruct every private
conversation from 1997.
It also highlights one of the
central difficulties surrounding historical memoirs:
How accurately can anyone remember
an emotionally overwhelming conversation nearly three decades later?
William Has Remained Publicly Focused on Royal Duties
While the controversy has
unfolded, William has continued carrying out official engagements.
On September 17, William and
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, carried out engagements on the Isle of Bute
in Scotland.
Their programme included a visit
to Bute Shinty and Amateur Athletic Club, participation in a beach clean-up
with volunteers and a visit to a local pub. These engagements are recorded in
the official Royal Family Court Circular.
There has been no public statement
from William about Spencer’s memoir.
That silence makes it difficult to
establish precisely what he thinks about its contents.
It also demonstrates the
difference between reported
royal sources and official statements.
A source can claim to know what a
royal family member privately thinks.
Only the individual themselves can
publicly confirm it.
The Personal History Behind the Controversy
The reason the story has attracted
so much attention is not simply because it involves a new book.
It concerns the death of a mother
and the childhood of two princes.
Diana died on August 31, 1997,
after a car crash in Paris.
William and Harry were teenagers.
The following days became an
extraordinary period of public mourning, intense media attention and
unprecedented scrutiny of the royal family.
Every decision was examined.
The funeral procession became a
global television event.
And William and Harry were placed
at the center of it despite their young ages.
Spencer’s memoir revisits those
decisions from the perspective of Diana’s brother.
For William, any renewed discussion
of those events necessarily concerns his own childhood.
The Alleged Anger Remains Unconfirmed
Reports have described William as
extremely upset about the memoir.
However, those reports should be
treated carefully.
There is no public statement from
William confirming that he is angry with Spencer.
There is also no official Palace
announcement saying that William objected to the book.
That means the most dramatic
descriptions of his alleged reaction remain unverified reports from unnamed sources.
What can be established is that
the book has reopened public debate over events involving his mother, father
and uncle.
It is also clear that Buckingham
Palace considered the claims serious enough to warrant an unusual response.
Those facts are considerably
stronger than speculation about William’s private emotions.
What Earl Spencer Says About Diana’s Final Days
The new memoir goes beyond the
alleged conversation with Charles.
Spencer revisits his memories of
Diana’s final days and the aftermath of her death.
His account reflects the
perspective of a brother who lost his sister and subsequently became involved
in discussions surrounding her funeral.
That perspective inevitably
differs from the perspective of the royal household.
It also differs from the
experiences of William and Harry.
This is why the memoir has the
potential to create competing narratives about the same historical events.
William wants to
treat Diana’s memory with “dignity” (Credit: Splash News)
A Family Argument Becomes a Historical Record
One of the fascinating aspects of
the controversy is how a private family disagreement can eventually become part
of the public historical record.
The events happened in 1997.
But new information continues to
emerge through memoirs, interviews, documentaries and previously unpublished
recollections.
Each new account can alter how the
public understands the period.
That does not mean every new claim
should automatically be accepted.
Instead, historians and readers
must distinguish between:
- Contemporaneous
documents
- Official
statements
- Firsthand
recollections
- Secondhand
accounts
- Anonymous-source
reporting
- Later
interpretations
The distinction is particularly
important when the subject is a private conversation for which no public
recording or transcript has been produced.
Why the Palace Response Matters
The Palace’s response has
attracted almost as much attention as the original allegation.
That is partly because royal
communications are usually carefully controlled.
The statement did not simply
ignore the controversy.
Instead, it highlighted the
possibility that grief could influence how people remember events.
The response therefore shifts the
discussion from a simple argument over who is telling the truth to a broader
question about memory,
grief and historical testimony.
That does not prove Spencer’s
account is incorrect.
Nor does it establish that the
Palace’s version is definitive.
It demonstrates that the two sides
now have sharply different interpretations of a highly personal period.
The Spencer-Windsor Relationship
The latest dispute also sits
within a much longer history.
Charles Spencer delivered a
powerful eulogy at Diana’s funeral in 1997 and became closely associated with
protecting her memory.
His relationship with the royal
family has been examined repeatedly over the years.
Diana herself occupied a unique
position between two families.
She was born into the Spencer
aristocratic family and married into the House of Windsor.
After her divorce from Charles,
she remained the mother of the future king.
Her death did not end those
connections.
Instead, it permanently linked the
Spencers and Windsors through William and Harry.
That history helps explain why
Spencer’s recollections continue to attract attention.
A New Generation Is Still Living With an Old Story
The 2026 controversy demonstrates
something unusual about Diana’s legacy.
The people who experienced her
death as children are now adults with their own public responsibilities.
William is now one of the most
senior members of the British royal family.
Harry has built a separate public
life outside the working monarchy.
Charles is now king.
And Charles Spencer remains
Diana’s brother.
Yet the emotional events of 1997
remain part of all their public identities.
That makes any new account of the period more than a historical footnote.
The Question of What William Wants
Reports suggesting William wants
Diana’s memory treated with dignity raise an important issue.
Diana's legacy has been
interpreted in many different ways over the past three decades.
For some, she is remembered
primarily as a humanitarian and mother.
For others, her story remains
closely tied to her difficult marriage and the pressures of royal life.
For the royal family, her legacy
is also part of the history of William and Harry.
The question is therefore not
simply whether William is angry about one book.
It is whether continued
revelations about Diana’s final days help preserve her memory—or keep reopening
a painful period of family history.
That is a question on which
different people can reasonably hold different views.
Why the Timing Is Significant
The memoir is arriving as the 30th
anniversary of Diana’s death approaches.
That timing gives the book
additional significance.
Diana died in 1997, meaning 2027
will mark three decades since her death.
As each major anniversary
approaches, public interest in her life traditionally increases.
Documentaries return to
television.
Archives are revisited.
Royal commentators reassess old
controversies.
And surviving members of Diana’s
family are asked to reflect on memories that have never entirely disappeared
from public life.
Spencer’s memoir arrives directly
into that environment.
What We Know and What We Don't
Several aspects of this story are
firmly documented.
Diana died in Paris in 1997.
William and Harry walked behind
her coffin during the funeral procession.
Charles Spencer has written a
memoir revisiting his sister’s life and death.
The memoir contains allegations
about conversations with the then-Prince Charles.
Buckingham Palace issued an
unusual response questioning the effect grief may have on memory.
William has continued official
royal duties and has not publicly commented on the controversy.
Other claims remain less certain.
There is no public confirmation
from William that he is “beyond furious.”
There is no publicly available
recording of the alleged conversation between Spencer and Charles.
And the Palace statement does not
independently reconstruct what happened during that conversation.
Those distinctions matter.
The Bigger Story Behind the Headlines
The most dramatic headlines
surrounding the memoir focus on alleged anger, family conflict and explosive
claims.
But the deeper story is about
something more enduring.
It is about how a family remembers
a death that changed its future.
William was a teenager when he
lost his mother.
Spencer lost his sister.
Charles lost his former wife and
the mother of his children.
Each person experienced the same
week from a completely different position.
Nearly 30 years later, those
memories are now colliding in print.
Diana’s Legacy Remains Larger Than One Dispute
Whatever readers ultimately make
of Spencer’s recollections, the controversy demonstrates the continuing power
of Diana’s story.
Her life remains the subject of
books, documentaries, historical research and public debate.
Her sons continue to carry her
legacy in different ways.
And the royal family continues to
live with the consequences of decisions made during the extraordinary days
following her death.
For William, the latest
controversy is reportedly personal.
For Spencer, it is a matter of
recording his own memories.
For the Palace, it has become a
question of defending the King against claims it regards as inaccurate or
shaped by grief.
And for the public, it is another
opportunity to examine one of the most consequential chapters in modern British royal history.
The memoir may provide new
details.
It may also raise new questions.
But unless more independent evidence emerges, the
precise truth of private conversations from those extraordinary days in 1997
will remain a matter of competing recollections rather than something that can
be established with complete certainty.
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