Earl Spencer Accuses King Charles of 'Gaslighting' Him After Palace Questions Royal Memoir

Earl Spencer has accused King Charles of 'gaslighting' him after Buckingham Palace appeared to question the reliability of his recollection in a new memoir about the late Princess Diana.

The 62-year-old brother of Diana made the remark in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, following a rare intervention from the Palace that stopped short of explicitly denying his allegations but suggested grief could affect memory. The dispute has generated significant media attention alongside the royal family's scheduled engagements this week.

The controversy began when excerpts from Spencer's forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, were serialised in the Daily Mail. In one passage, Spencer recounted what he says was a heated telephone conversation with the then-Prince of Wales days after Diana's death in a Paris car crash on 31 August 1997.

He alleged that Charles, furious over disagreements about funeral arrangements, told him, 'Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.' The claim sent shockwaves through royal circles, not least because it painted Charles as callous at a moment of national mourning.

Palace Response Sparks Accusations of Royal Gaslighting

Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Wednesday, marking a rare intervention on a matter relating to a book. '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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,' a spokesperson said.

The wording was interpreted by some observers as a suggestion that Spencer's recollection might be flawed, though the Palace did not explicitly state his account was false.

Spencer used the term 'gaslighting' to describe his interpretation of the Palace's response, saying he felt the statement was effectively suggesting that he had misremembered or fabricated the conversation.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, he said, 'It is not every day you wake up to find you've been gaslit by the king.'

He described the Palace's statement as 'astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I'd lied without the king being able to deny what I'd said.'

The Palace has not issued a further statement since Spencer's latest interview, despite additional allegations emerging from the book. On Sunday, a spokesperson again declined to comment when approached by reporters.

Memoir Allegations Extend Beyond One Phone Call

The memoir does not stop at the disputed phone call. Spencer writes that Charles sounded 'giddily elated' and 'like a lottery winner' when they spoke immediately after Diana's death, according to his account.

He speculates that Charles's reaction may have reflected relief that he could eventually marry Camilla Parker Bowles, although this is Spencer's interpretation rather than an established fact. Spencer also recounts conversations with his sister in which, he says, she described their marriage as having become 'very difficult indeed' early on.

The aristocrat said financial considerations were not a motivation for publishing the book. 'It has never even been the remotest consideration,' he said, adding that his 'primary responsibility as a historian is to tell the truth.' Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published on 22 September 2026 by Penguin Michael Joseph in the UK.

As of 20 September, neither Prince William nor Prince Harry had publicly commented on the allegations.

Harry, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and published his own memoir, Spare, in 2023, has maintained ties with members of the Spencer family. His book thanked 'my mother's siblings for their love, support, time, and perspective.'

In a BBC interview set to air on Sunday, Spencer drew parallels between the media treatment of Diana and that of Harry and his wife, Meghan.

'If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant,' he said. 'I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana's example.'

The royal family has continued with scheduled engagements this week, with Charles meeting senior figures in artificial intelligence at a summit in Scotland on 17 September even as Spencer's book dominates headlines.

The central claims remain disputed: Spencer stands by his recollection, while Buckingham Palace has questioned whether grief may have affected his memory.