‘I’m telling the truth’: Diana’s brother takes on King Charles

Dubai: Princess Diana’s brother has dramatically escalated his public clash with King Charles, insisting he is “telling the truth” about an explosive conversation after Diana’s death and accusing the monarch of trying to “gaslight” him.

Earl Spencer has alleged in his forthcoming book that the then-Prince Charles told him shortly after Diana died in 1997 that people would “forget her soon enough”.

Buckingham Palace has firmly disputed Spencer’s account, issuing an unusually strong statement suggesting that grief can affect judgment and memory.

But in an interview with the BBC at Althorp, the Spencer family estate where Diana is buried, her brother stood by his version of events.

“I’m telling the truth,” Spencer said when pressed on whether his recollection or the King’s should be believed.

‘Precisely the words he said’

Spencer said he had only ever had two telephone conversations with Charles and was therefore “hyper alert” to what was being said during the call after Diana’s death.

He insisted the words described in his book were “precisely” what Charles had said.

Spencer said he had told family members and friends about the conversation at the time because he considered the remarks extraordinary.

His account has also received some contemporaneous support from journalist Richard Kay, who was close to Diana. Kay wrote in the Mail on Sunday that Spencer told him during the week between Diana’s death and funeral that he had been involved in a “furious row” with Charles concerning William and Harry.

WHO IS EARL SPENCER?

• Charles Spencer, 62, is the younger brother of the late Princess Diana and the 9th Earl Spencer.

• Born in London in 1964, he grew up with Diana at Althorp House, the Spencer family’s ancestral estate in Northamptonshire.

• He studied modern history at Oxford and later worked as a journalist, including about a decade with NBC News.

• Spencer and Diana were close as children, particularly during their parents’ divorce, although their relationship later had periods of tension.

• He became internationally known for his powerful eulogy at Diana’s 1997 funeral, when he criticised the media and pledged to help protect William and Harry.

• Diana is buried on an island at Althorp, which has been the Spencer family seat for centuries.

• Spencer has written several books on history and the Royal Family. His latest, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is due to be published next week.

• He has five daughters and two sons from his first three marriages.

Palace pushes back

Buckingham Palace has questioned Spencer’s recollection without directly detailing its own account of the conversation.

“The pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,” the Palace said.

Spencer reacted sharply, accusing the King of psychological manipulation.

“It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the King,” he told the Mail on Sunday, describing the Palace response as “astonishingly provocative”.

A longtime friend of the King, Dame Julia Cleverdon, also challenged Spencer’s portrayal, telling the BBC that it did not reflect the language or behaviour of the man she had known for four decades.

Harry and Meghan: ‘Echoes’ of Diana

Spencer also used his BBC interview to draw parallels between the treatment of Diana and the intense media scrutiny faced by Prince Harry and Meghan.

He recalled seeing his sister reduced to “tears of despair” by press coverage and said Diana had been extremely sensitive to criticism.

Spencer described it as a “pity” that he could see “echoes” of that experience in the treatment of Harry and Meghan, warning that relentless hostile coverage could have a “cancerous influence” on someone’s life.

He stressed, however, that he was not choosing between Diana’s sons.

Spencer said there was a perception that he was on Harry’s side, but added that he was on the side of both of his late sister’s sons and would be there for either of them if needed.

The comments come as Spencer prepares to publish on Tuesday Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is expected to contain further claims about the Royal Family.

Nearly three decades after he delivered one of the defining speeches of Diana’s funeral, her brother has again placed himself at the centre of a deeply personal royal dispute.