Earl Spencer defends claim that King Charles said world would 'forget' Diana
Earl Spencer claims King Charles told him the world would forget Diana after her death in 1997.
Earl Spencer claims King Charles made disparaging comments about Princess Diana during a phone call almost three decades ago. Spencer says Charles told him the world would 'forget' Diana after her death in Paris in 1997.
The comments reportedly came as Spencer objected to Charles's plan for Princes William and Harry to walk behind Diana's coffin at her funeral. Buckingham Palace responded to the claims by suggesting grief may have clouded Spencer's memory over time.
Spencer hit back in a television interview, calling the palace statement 'classic gaslighting'. He said the palace questioned his memory without explicitly denying he heard those words.
Palace officials and media figures have disputed Spencer's account. Broadcaster Piers Morgan claims to have found factual errors in the book.
- 1997 car crash in Paris
- Diana's death
- Princes William and Harry
- Diana's sons
- Earl Spencer
- Accuser
- Spencer's new book
- Source
Why it mattersThe claims reopen a longstanding rift between the royal family and Diana's relatives over how she is remembered.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet; this could widen divisions within the royal family as it approaches the 30th anniversary of Diana's death.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 17 h ago
