Earl Spencer’s new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, has reignited controversy surrounding Princess Diana’s life, her relationship with the Royal Family and the events following her death in 1997.
The 62-year-old Earl, Diana’s younger brother, makes a series of striking claims in the book, including accounts of conversations with members of the Royal Family and allegations concerning Mohamed Al Fayed.
Claims about Mohamed Al Fayed
Spencer writes that Diana told him about an alleged incident involving Mohamed Al Fayed during the early stages of her relationship with his son, Dodi.
According to Spencer’s account, Diana described the encounter as deeply uncomfortable but later recalled it with a degree of dark humour.
Al Fayed, who died in 2023, has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. The Metropolitan Police has previously said it was examining allegations relating to his conduct.
Spencer’s account of Charles’s reaction to Diana’s death
One of the memoir’s most contentious passages concerns a telephone conversation Spencer says he had with the then-Prince Charles shortly after Diana’s death.
Spencer claims Charles sounded unusually upbeat when he called to discuss the tragedy. He says the conversation left him shocked and that, in retrospect, he interpreted Charles’s reaction as being connected to the possibility of moving on from his former marriage.
Spencer also recounts a later disagreement concerning William and Harry’s involvement in Diana’s funeral procession.
He claims Charles became extremely angry during the conversation and allegedly told him that Diana would eventually be forgotten.
These claims have been disputed by the Palace. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said that grief can affect memory and judgement, particularly when painful events are recalled many years later.
Diana reportedly considered cancelling her wedding
The memoir also revisits Diana’s relationship with Charles before their 1981 wedding.
Spencer claims that, after attending Prince Andrew’s 21st birthday celebrations, Diana was deeply upset by Charles’s apparent lack of interest in her. According to his account, she subsequently told their father that she could not marry someone who did not love her.
Her father, Spencer says, believed the wedding could not realistically be cancelled so close to the ceremony.
An offer to restore Diana’s title
Spencer further claims that, following Diana’s funeral, Robert Fellowes, the Queen’s private secretary and Diana’s brother-in-law, approached him about the possibility of restoring Diana’s royal title posthumously.
Diana had lost the style “Her Royal Highness” following her divorce from Charles in 1996, although she retained the title “Diana, Princess of Wales”.
Spencer says he questioned the value of restoring the title after his sister’s death.
A claim involving Queen Elizabeth II
The memoir also contains an account concerning Spencer’s father, John Spencer, and the future Queen Elizabeth II.
Spencer writes that his father had a romantic connection with Elizabeth before she became Queen, but says Lord Mountbatten intervened and made clear that such a relationship could not continue.
The claim concerns events from decades before Diana’s death and is presented in the memoir as part of Spencer’s recollections of his family history.
Harry and a possible Diana documentary
Spencer also refers to approaches he says he received about appearing in documentaries concerning Diana, including an approach associated with his nephew, Prince Harry.
He says he had repeatedly declined requests to participate in documentaries about his sister, despite continuing interest in Diana’s life nearly three decades after her death.
The memoir comes as the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death approaches and presents Spencer’s personal account of his sister, her marriage, her death and the aftermath.
The claims about Charles have attracted particular attention because they concern private conversations that took place decades ago. Spencer maintains that he is recording his own recollections as an eyewitness to events, while the Palace has challenged the reliability of memories shaped by grief.
