Prince William and Princess Kate looked happy in Scotland today as they arrived on the Isle of Bute for a community-focused visit.
Their visit comes as a fresh royal dispute erupted over claims concerning William’s father King Charles and late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
Their Scotland trip followed Buckingham Palace’s rebuttal of Earl Spencer’s memoir claim about comments allegedly made by King Charles soon after Diana’s death. The comments were made in Diana’s brother Earl Spencer’s new memoir about his late sister.
In Scotland, William and Kate use the titles Duke and Duchess of Rothesay. They arrived in Rothesay, the island town sharing the name of those Scottish titles.
William and Kate visit Bute Shinty Club in Scotland
The couple’s first stop was Bute Shinty Club, a sporting centre with a wider role in island life.
They visited to hear how the club has become an important social hub for residents. The engagement also highlighted local people working to bring their community together.
That focus kept the day firmly rooted in Bute.
The trip marked William and Kate’s first visit to the island. They reached Bute by ferry from the Scottish mainland.
King Charles continues engagements amid memoir row
Elsewhere, on Thursday, King Charles continued with public engagements following the palace statement.
He addressed technology leaders in Edinburgh and warned about AI systems falling into the wrong hands. The king spoke of the “existential dangers” such technology could pose in that situation.
Palace challenges Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir claims
The royal family’s outings come as Earl Spencer’s new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, has become the centre of a new row. The memoir is being serialised in the Daily Mail.
In an excerpt, Diana’s brother alleges Charles made a stark remark only days after her death in August 1997. He claims the then Prince of Wales said: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
The allegation is disputed by Buckingham Palace. A spokesperson said the palace does not usually comment on books as a matter of principle.
The full statement read: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, 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.”
Read more: Copies of Charles Spencer’s Princess Diana memoir ‘stolen in lorry raid’
In the memoir, Earl Spencer describes a phone call he allegedly had with Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales.
Earl Spencer writes: “Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped.
“I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!'”
The memoir is due for release on September 22.
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