Earl Spencer Calls Royal Palace Statement on King Charles 'Condescending'

Earl Spencer has publicly criticized Buckingham Palace's response to an allegation he made in his new book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," calling it "condescending" and "not straight."

The statement from the Palace addressed a claim by Spencer that then-Prince Charles told him hours after Princess Diana's death, "We’ll forget her soon enough!"

Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement in response to the claim, stating, "While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, 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."

Responding to the Palace's comment, Spencer told ABC's "Good Morning America," "It's not every day you're gaslit by a king."

He added, "I was really upset with that because I thought it was very, not only condescending, but not straight. What I said is straight and true. And what did they come back with? That. It doesn’t say he didn’t say it either. That’s what I found interesting. I was really shocked, actually."

Spencer also spoke to the BBC, reiterating that the words attributed to King Charles were precisely as he recalled them. "I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said," Spencer stated. "I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that."

In an interview with People magazine, Spencer was asked if he feared writing so candidly about the current King. "Not really, no," he responded. "I respect the institution of the Crown, and I know that most people in Britain do, especially the older generation, but when I’m writing this book, I’m not interested in who people are in terms of status. I’m looking at them as people. And the central person, the only one that really matters, is Diana. It was very important actually in the book to explain why things turned out as they did."

The book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" was scheduled for release on September 22.