According to Earl Spencer in his new book, King Charles allegedly appeared “elated” during a call announcing Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
The new account appears in Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
It follows Buckingham Palace’s rebuttal of another allegation from the same book.
Diana’s brother claims the king’s voice was unusually upbeat, while other callers struggled to speak. His account concerns the immediate aftermath of Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris in August 1997.
Earl Spencer describes King Charles phone call in new book
Writing in the memoir, as serialised in the Daily Mail, Earl Spencer says his telephone kept ringing as people offered condolences and help.
Most callers sounded stunned and “barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help,” he recalls. Then-Prince Charles allegedly seemed “giddily elated – like a lottery winner,” according to Earl Spencer.
The Earl also claims Charles sounded “strangely matter-of-fact” despite the scale of the tragedy.
Looking back, he believes the prince may initially have focused on how Diana’s death could affect his future.
He writes: “Looking back now, I suspect the prince’s first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not.”
This is Earl Spencer’s interpretation of a conversation recalled almost three decades later.
Buckingham Palace challenges Earl Spencer’s recollection
However, Buckingham Palace has challenged a separate recollection published from the memoir.
The statement followed Earl Spencer’s allegation that Charles made a dismissive remark about Diana during a funeral dispute.
The palace said it normally avoids commenting on books. It added that grief can “cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory”.
This response concerned Earl Spencer’s claim that then-Prince Charles said the alleged words after Diana’s death: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”
According to the memoir, Earl Spencer was stunned and ended the call after challenging Charles. The palace statement did not directly mention the latest lottery-winner comparison.
Funeral dispute behind Earl Spencer’s allegation
The disputed exchange arose during arguments about Diana’s funeral in September 1997. Her sons William and Harry were then 15 and 12.
The Earl says a senior palace aide told him the boys would walk behind their mother’s coffin.
He says he rejected that plan because he believed Diana would not have wanted such a public ordeal.
The then-Prince of Wales then telephoned and questioned the Spencer family’s sense of duty, the book alleges.
According to Earl Spencer, Charles referred to walking at Lord Mountbatten’s funeral in 1979. The Earl replied that Charles had been 30 at the time.
He claims that point provoked an angry reaction.
Earl Spencer’s claims remain allegations and reflect his memory of an intensely painful family crisis.
Royal aide’s ‘fear’ over Charles walking behind Diana’s coffin
Elsewhere in the book, Earl Spencer also claimed that royal aides had fears over Charles walking behind Diana’s coffin alongside their sons William and Harry at her funeral.
He writes: “Sir Robin Janvrin, the Queen’s Deputy Private Secretary, told the committee planning the funeral that if Prince Charles went ahead, then I must be persuaded to walk with him.
“This was out of fear that, if Prince Charles walked alone, members of the public might shout abuse at him. The committee realised that if they could persuade William and Harry to be there too, that would surely guarantee against insults flying.”
When will the Princess Diana memoir be released?
Princess Diana was 36 when she died after a Paris car crash involving Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul.
The memoir is due for UK publication next Tuesday (September 22) and will be translated into 12 languages.
Read more: Prince Harry makes first public appearance without Meghan Markle since UK return
It is expected to cover Diana’s childhood, her marriage and the difficult days following the crash.
ED! has contacted Buckingham Palace on Earl Spencer’s book.
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