Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed that King Charles sounded “giddily elated” when he called him following Diana’s death in 1997.
The allegation appears in Spencer’s upcoming memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which revisits his sister’s life, her troubled marriage and the events surrounding her death.
According to excerpts published in the Daily Mail, Spencer was at his home in Cape Town, South Africa, when his sister Jane called him during the early hours of 31 August 1997 to tell him about Diana’s car crash in Paris.
Spencer writes that he received several calls as news of Diana’s death emerged. He says Charles, then the Prince of Wales, was among those who contacted him.
“Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time,” Spencer writes.
He says Charles told him that he had informed Princes William and Harry about their mother’s death earlier that morning while they were at Balmoral.
Charles and Diana had divorced in August 1996, about a year before her death.
Buckingham Palace has strongly rejected the portrayal of Charles in the memoir. A spokesperson said on Wednesday that the Palace does not generally comment on books but acknowledged the impact grief can have on a person’s recollection of events.
“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 spokesperson said.
An earlier extract from Spencer’s memoir had also claimed that Charles said of Diana, “We’ll forget her soon enough.” The Palace has pointed back to its previous response when addressing the latest allegations.
The claims are based on Spencer’s personal recollections of conversations and events from almost three decades ago. BBC News has not seen the complete memoir, which is due to be published next week.
Spencer also revisits Diana’s relationship with Charles, claiming that a friend of his sister told him Charles had expressed doubts about his feelings shortly before their wedding in July 1981.
According to Spencer, Charles had said he was “very happy to marry her” but was “not actually in love with her”.
He writes that the marriage became “very difficult indeed” at an early stage and says he believes both Diana and Charles “despaired of the other at times”.
Spencer also writes that he now believes Diana had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He links this to what he describes as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which he says involved intense emotional pain in response to rejection or criticism.
He further claims that Diana considered taking her own life on several occasions during her later years but says her love for William and Harry stopped her from going further.
Dickie Arbiter, who served as press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II when Diana died and during her funeral, has disputed Spencer’s description of Charles’s reaction.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Arbiter described the claim that Charles sounded “giddily elated” as “hogwash”. He said Charles was “devastated at the time” and argued that such a reaction was not consistent with his character.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond also questioned the account while acknowledging that it reflects Spencer’s recollection.
“I have no reason to disbelieve this is his memory of what happened, but there are usually two sides to a conversation and a story,” she told BBC Breakfast.
The memoir controversy comes as Prince Harry attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in Greenwich on Thursday.
Harry met veterans and other guests, posed for photographs and selfies, and later delivered a speech at the event. He said he was “incredibly excited” to meet the winners and nominees after serving on the judging panel alongside his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The awards recognise resilience, commitment to international sport, recovery and philanthropic support. Meghan did not attend the ceremony.
Meanwhile, other senior royals carried out public engagements across Britain.
King Charles hosted an artificial intelligence summit in Ayrshire, where he warned technology executives about the “existential dangers” of AI falling into the wrong hands.
Representatives from Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic attended the meeting, which took place amid growing calls within the technology industry for greater regulation.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, meanwhile, joined a beach clean-up during their visit to Scotland’s Isle of Bute.
The couple met local residents and took part in a game of shinty, a traditional sport popular on the island.
