Diana’s brother claims royal family reaction — Deutsche Welle English

In the United Kingdom, Charles Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, set out his own version of events surrounding his sister’s life and death in the memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, including claims about the reaction of members of the royal family after her death in 1997. The book was published on September 22 in 12 language editions, Deutsche Welle English reports.

Claims about events after Diana’s death

In the book, Spencer writes that after the news of the crash, Queen Elizabeth II allegedly initially reacted by saying that Diana had done something again, before the seriousness of the situation became clear. He also claims that certain people at Buckingham Palace were “relieved — even pleased” by Diana’s death.

Spencer describes a telephone conversation with Charles, then Prince of Wales, which took place several days after the crash. According to his version, Charles said that the world would soon forget Diana. The princess’s brother also says that he objected to 15-year-old Prince William and 12-year-old Prince Harry taking part in the funeral procession behind their mother’s coffin, as he believed this would be traumatic for the children. In his view, their presence could have protected Charles from a possible negative reaction from people.

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Buckingham Palace’s response

Buckingham Palace responded to the first excerpt from the memoirs published by the Daily Mail. The statement said that the palace does not usually comment on books, but that the king understands that the pain of losing a sibling can “cloud the mind, influence judgment and colour memories” even many years later.

Spencer also writes that, in his view, Diana had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and suffered from rejection sensitivity. In addition, he again criticized British tabloids and paparazzi, accusing editors and publishers who bought intrusive photographs of the princess of being involved in circumstances that, in his assessment, contributed to her death. Diana died in a car crash on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36.