Earl Charles Spencer has accused King Charles III of "gaslighting" him after Buckingham Palace questioned his recollection of a conversation they allegedly had shortly after Princess Diana's death in August 1997. The dispute centers on an excerpt from Spencer's upcoming memoir, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," in which he claims the then-Prince Charles said, "We'll forget her soon enough!"
Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement in response to Spencer's allegations, suggesting that grief might have affected his memory. The statement read, "His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss."
Spencer, however, stands by his account. "It is not every day you wake up to find you've been gaslit by the king," he stated in an interview with The Mail on Sunday. He characterized the palace's response as "astonishingly provocative and below the belt" for implying he had lied without the King being able to directly deny it.
Spencer described the alleged conversation as a heated exchange that occurred six days after Diana's death. He recalled Prince Charles expressing what Spencer perceived as "contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death."
Spencer's memoir excerpt also touches on the contentious decision for Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind their mother's coffin during the funeral procession. Spencer had publicly opposed this decision, calling it "bizarre and cruel" in a 2017 interview. His brother-in-law, Prince Harry, also wrote about the event in his 2023 memoir, "Spare," detailing the distress it caused him and his brother.
Spencer stated on BBC One's "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" that his nephews, William and Harry, would not be surprised by his account of the conversation with their father, indicating they are already aware of his version of events. He reiterated that the words attributed to King Charles were precisely what he heard and that he immediately shared the alleged comment with friends and family due to its shocking nature.
Princess Diana died at age 36 from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris. Her partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver, Henri Paul, also died in the incident. Diana and Charles divorced in August 1996, a year before her death.
"Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" is scheduled for release on September 22.