Diana’s brother has made an explosive allegation the late Queen responded dismissively upon learning of the Princess’s fatal 1997 car accident in Paris.
Earl Spencer, 62, writes in his bombshell memoir Her Majesty reacted with irritation before the gravity of the situation became apparent.
According to the book, titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, the monarch enquired: “What is she up to now?”
The disclosure forms part of a series of startling revelations contained within the volume has prompted Buckingham Palace to break with convention and issue a public statement.
The Earl’s account suggests the Queen’s initial response reflected frustration rather than concern when first informed Diana had been involved in a traffic collision.
In further revelations, the Earl discloses Her Majesty considered posthumously reinstating his sister’s Her Royal Highness designation, which had been stripped away following the 1996 divorce proceedings.
The monarch’s private secretary, Robert Fellowes, who passed away in 2024, reportedly extended this offer within hours of Spencer delivering his eulogy at Westminster Abbey.
However, Diana’s brother writes he immediately recognised such a gesture would be meaningless. “I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award,” he states in the memoir.
Earl Spencer’s account suggests the Queen’s response reflected frustration rather than concern when first informed of the crash
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His imagined response to Fellowes conveys his rejection: “That’s very kind of the Queen, of course. But what’s the point, Robert? Now? I mean Diana’s dead.”
The Earl characterises the original removal of the title as intentional humiliation, writing: “The loss was designed to emphasise to her, and the world, that her royal days were over.”
Perhaps the most inflammatory allegations concern the current King’s conduct following his ex-wife’s death.
Spencer describes the then Prince of Wales, now 77, as appearing “giddily elated like a lottery winner” during a telephone conversation regarding the tragedy.
Earl Spencer disclosed Her Majesty considered posthumously reinstating his sister’s Her Royal Highness designation
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PAThe memoir further suggests Charles’s immediate thoughts centred on how the circumstances might enable him to wed Camilla, the woman he loved.
Yet the Earl also recounts how that same telephone exchange descended into a furious confrontation. Spencer states his late sister’s former husband “went ballistic” and launched into an extended tirade criticising the Spencer family’s sense of duty.
Following this outburst, according to the account, the King delivered what Spencer considered an astonishing remark: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”
The Earl writes he responded with stunned silence before declaring “I cannot believe you just said that” and terminating the call.
During a BBC interview, Spencer mounted a vigorous defence of his account and challenged the veracity of the Palace’s response.
The Earl emphasised his absolute certainty regarding the exchange, noting he has spoken with the then Prince of Wales on merely two occasions throughout his entire life.
“I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said,” he stated.
When questioned about corroboration, Spencer revealed he immediately shared details of the conversation with close confidants. “I told friends and family straight away, close friends and family, about what had been said, because it was so monstrous,” he explained.
The Earl declared simply: “I’m telling the truth.”
He also questioned whether the King’s official reaction stemmed from anger or shame.
Buckingham Palace has taken the highly unusual step of issuing a public comment, departing from its standard practice of declining to respond to published works.
The response represents a rare intervention by the Royal Household regarding such matters.
A spokesman stated: “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.”
The carefully worded statement stops short of directly contradicting Spencer’s claims whilst suggesting his recollections may have been distorted by bereavement.
The Palace’s decision to break with established protocol underscores the gravity with which the allegations have been received within royal circles.