Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, has claimed a piece of music she wanted at her funeral was rejected after her death in his new book.
Charles Spencer makes the allegation in the first published extract from his forthcoming memoir, carried by the Daily Mail.
He says his sisters identified Mozart’s Requiem as music Diana wanted, before he passed on their request.
Princess Diana’s funeral wish, according to Earl Spencer book
The claim adds another disputed detail to Princess Diana’s funeral arrangements, nearly three decades after the Westminster Abbey service.
Diana’s brother says officials refused the request on Church of England grounds. He says he later discovered the stated restriction did not apply. He describes that explanation as the first of several untruths pushed towards him.
Earl Spencer writes: “When I passed this on, it was rejected as a possibility: ‘No part of a requiem can be played at a Church of England funeral,’ I was told.”
The extract follows Buckingham Palace’s challenge to another claim by Charles Spencer concerning a reported telephone exchange after Diana’s death.
Charles Spencer says family faced palace control
In the extract, Diana’s brother recalls acting as a go-between for his family, Buckingham Palace and Diana’s former husband. King Charles was then the Prince of Wales, while Queen Elizabeth II remained monarch.
Earl Spencer claims Diana was still treated as belonging to the palace, despite her divorce. Diana’s own family, he says, was expected to “fall in line” with royal decisions.
“Diana remained theirs, in Buckingham Palace’s eyes, even in death,” he writes.
He also alleges some members of the royal circle felt “relieved” or “pleased” by Diana’s death. However, the earl says others treated him kindly during those difficult days.
Read more: Princess Diana ‘would be horrified’ at brother Charles over explosive new claim about the King
Prince William and Prince Harry procession row revisited
The memoir also returns to the decision involving Diana’s sons and the procession behind her coffin. Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was 12 when their mother died.
Earl Spencer says he opposed the proposal, believing Diana would never have wanted them to face that ordeal. His reported clash with their father became increasingly heated.
“It was a suggestion that struck me as utterly barbaric, and quite out of the question,” he writes.
He claims the then Prince Charles criticised the Spencer family’s sense of duty during a telephone call. He further alleges the future king said Diana would soon be forgotten “soon enough”.
That allegation prompted a rare statement from Buckingham Palace. While declining to discuss books generally, the palace questioned how grief may shape recollections. It said the “pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason” and colour memory, even years later.
William and Harry described a family decision
In the end, William and Harry walked behind their mother’s coffin during the 1997 funeral procession. Their grandfather Prince Philip, their father Charles and their uncle Earl Spencer joined them.
In the BBC’s 2017 documentary Diana, 7 Days, both brothers described participation as a group decision. William said it was not easy, but called it a collective family choice.
Harry later confirmed his uncle’s objections in Spare. He also wrote that he did not want William to endure the procession without him.
Earl Charles Spencer prepares to release Diana book
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is scheduled for release on September 22. The book marks the first time Earl Spencer has spoken openly and at length about his late sister.
He said the approaching 30th anniversary brought many interview requests, prompting him to write. After recording the audiobook, the author called Swan Song the most personal book he has written.
He has described it as a brother’s tribute, covering what he wanted and needed to say.
ED! has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment on the book’s claims.
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