Queen Camilla Calls for "Togetherness" Amid Palace Dispute with Earl Spencer Over Diana Memoir

Queen Camilla advocated for "togetherness" on Saturday, quoting a proverb as a public reference to the ongoing dispute between Buckingham Palace and her brother-in-law, Earl Spencer, concerning his recently published memoir.

At the fourth Queen's Reading Room Festival held at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, Camilla stated, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." She attributed the success of the literary festival to the "incredible support offered to us by a huge number of booklovers: writers, actors, publishers and, above all, readers."

Camilla's remarks followed Earl Spencer's staunch defense of his account detailed in his memoir, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister." Buckingham Palace had issued an unusual public statement suggesting that grief had affected his "reason, judgment and memory." In response, Earl Spencer insisted to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, "I'm telling the truth" about a phone call with Prince Charles in the days after Princess Diana's death.

According to the memoir, Prince Charles told Earl Spencer, "we'll forget her [Diana] soon enough," during an argument about the extent of Prince William and Prince Harry's involvement in their mother's funeral procession. Earl Spencer recounted that the comment stunned him and led him to end the phone call. He has stated that he shared the alleged remark with family and friends at the time because it was "so monstrous."

Earl Spencer also stated that Charles "went ballistic" and "ranted for a while" when Spencer suggested Diana would not have wanted her sons to walk behind her coffin. He added that he believed the official palace response did not deny the specific words attributed to the King.

Excerpts from Earl Spencer's memoir have also claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth II offered to restore Princess Diana's royal title on the day of her funeral, that Diana expressed doubts about marrying Prince Charles a month before the wedding, and that Charles told Diana he was not in love with her the day before they married. The book further alleges that Diana considered suicide and that Charles sounded "giddily elated" shortly after her death.

During the festival, details were also released about a new BBC Arts documentary titled "The Book That Changed My Life," featuring Queen Camilla. Scheduled to air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on October 14, the program will explore the impact of reading through conversations with individuals whose lives were profoundly affected by books. The documentary is part of the National Year of Reading 2026.