In the new book “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” Charles Spencer, the 9thĀ Earl Spencer, offers his perspective on theĀ life of his lateĀ sister, Diana, Princess of Wales.
AsĀ British tabloid culture ensures that every feud and controversy linked to the royal family gets amplified into a major public debate, the memoir started makingĀ headlines before itsĀ publication on September 22.
Among some of the key revelations of the book, he says that he believesĀ that Diana had ADHD, and that “as part of that condition she suffered from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria,” which he describes as “an intense emotional pain in the face of others’Ā rejection or criticism.”
Spencer also claims theirĀ father developed a “romantic connection” with the futureĀ Queen Elizabeth II,Ā until he was warned off her by Lord Mountbatten, who was the maternal uncle and close mentor of the queen’s husband, Prince Philip.
But most polemically,Ā SpencerĀ revisits one of theĀ British royal family’s mostĀ painful chapters: the aftermath of Diana’s tragic deathĀ in a car crash on August 31, 1997.
‘We’ll forget her soon enough’
Spencer writes that when Queen Elizabeth II first heard of Diana’s accident, her initial reaction was: “What is she up to now?” before the gravity of the situation became clear.
Diana’s death sparked a global outpouring of grief.Ā In the aftermath of the car crash, the royals faced strong public backlash for their delayed and cold response to the tragedy.Ā The Queen’s first public address came five days after Diana’s death.
In his book, Spencer suggests that some inside Buckingham Palace wereĀ “relieved ā€”Ā indeed pleased” that she had died.Ā He also recounts a phone conversation withĀ King Charles, then-Prince of Wales that happenedĀ days after her death. According to Spencer,Ā the princeĀ sounded “giddily elated ā€” like a lottery winner.”
Spencer writesĀ that they discussed howĀ he objected to having Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession at the internationally televised funeral.
Spencer felt it would be traumatic to put the boys in the media spotlight just after their mother had died. He writes in the book that he believes the boys were used as a protective shield for Charles, as Buckingham Palace officials feared “members of the public might shout abuse at him,” whereas the children’s presence “would surely guarantee against insults flying.”
Spencer also recounts Diana’s belief that Prince Charles had already become jealous of her popularity decades earlier.
He describes how Prince Charles went into a “stream of anger” during the phone conversation after her death.Ā The princess’s brother writes that her former husbandĀ unleashedĀ “his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death.Ā ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!'”
But nearly 30 years after the fatal car crash, Diana remainsĀ a global icon. The 36-year-old was a glamorous celebrity, renowned for her advocacy for different causes, including her groundbreaking support for AIDS patients.
Ā Buckingham Palace directly reactedĀ to the first excerpt published in the Daily Mail: “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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.”
In contrast, the Palace met Prince Harry’s accusations in his 2023 memoir “Spare” with total institutional silence, applying the royals’ traditional public relations strategy ofĀ “Never complain, never explain.”
Speaking on behalf of the ‘blood family’
The feud between Earl Spencer and Buckingham Palace is not new.
Spencer famously delivered a passionate eulogy for his sister at Westminster Abbey in 1997. In it, he not only criticized the role of the paparazziĀ in the accident, calling his sister the “most hunted person of the modern age,” but also set himself apart from the royals by referring to his blood ties with Diana in a promise to protect her boys “from a similar fate.”
“I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned,” he said at the time.
On the day of the funeral, Spencer writes, Queen Elizabeth II offered through intermediaries to posthumously restore Diana’s “Her Royal Highness” (HRH) title. Spencer declined, as he felt the gesture had little meaning after her death.
Even though BuckinghamĀ Palace has alwaysĀ insisted Diana gave up the title voluntarily, SpencerĀ writes that she was leftĀ “dreadfully hurt” byĀ its removalĀ amid her divorce with Charles.Ā
Intrusive tabloid culture led to her death
In his book, Spencer returns to the themes he addressedĀ in his eulogy, accusing the editors and publishers who bought intrusive photos of Diana of havingĀ contributed to killing his sister.
According to him, British tabloid culture turned into system that profited from Diana’s suffering and encouraged increasingly extreme invasions of privacy.
After the divorce, large sections of the media began portraying Diana as unstable, manipulative, difficultĀ or attention-seeking. Paparazzi would provoke distress andĀ photograph herĀ reaction;Ā newspapers would then publish stories suggesting she was unstable.
She wasĀ unable to escape media scrutiny, making her extremely unhappy:Ā “It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all,”Ā Spencer writes, adding: “Her love for her sons stopped her from going further.”
A lucrative release ahead of 30th anniversary of Diana’sĀ death
While Spencer has long criticizedĀ the destructive nature of the BritishĀ tabloid system, the promotion of his memoirĀ relies on the exact ecosystem he decries. He has sold serialization rights of the book to theĀ UK’s Daily MailĀ ā€”Ā one of the very tabloid outlets frequently associated with intense royal scrutiny.
Some critics accuse him of wanting to cash in on the tragedy, with the high-profile book published just ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death.Ā
His supporters however feel that Diana’s brotherĀ is justified to share his personal perspective on their shared experience, noting that many other authors have profited off her legacy over the decades.
Spencer has stated that his account aims to correct decades of “untruths that have become accepted over time” and inaccurate portrayals of his late sister by outside biographers and commentators over the years.
“At heart, this is a brother’s simple tribute to an extraordinary sister,” Earl Spencer wrote of his own work on Instagram, adding, “A month ago I read ‘Swan Song’ out, over three days, for a recording so that it could be available on audiobook. When I finished the recording, I thought: ‘That is exactly what I wanted and needed to say ā€” and she would, I reckon, have approved of every word.'”
Edited by: Brenda Haas