King Charles faces palace denial over alleged forget her soon comment

Buckingham Palace has issued an extraordinary and forceful public rebuke against allegations made by Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, in his upcoming memoir concerning a private telephone conversation with King Charles in the days following the death of Princess Diana. The unfolding dispute threatens to cast a heavy shadow over the British monarchy as it prepares for the widespread serialization and formal release of the book, bringing decades-old tensions back to the forefront of public life.

In his upcoming book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Spencer recounts a deeply turbulent period following the tragic death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36. As detailed in advance excerpts published by the Daily Mail, the central flashpoint of the dispute revolves around arrangements for the state funeral and whether Diana’s young sons — then-15-year-old Prince William and 12-year-old Prince Harry — should walk behind their mother’s coffin through the streets of London.

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Spencer writes that he strongly objected to the plan after being informed by a senior aide to Queen Elizabeth that the boys would participate, arguing that Diana would never have wanted her children subjected to such a public and traumatic ordeal so soon after her passing. According to Spencer’s account, the disagreement escalated when Charles, then the Prince of Wales, intervened directly by telephone. Charles reportedly cited his own experience walking in the 1979 funeral procession of his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, when Charles was 30 years old. When Spencer pointed out the stark age difference between himself and the young princes, the conversation devolved into a fierce argument.

Spencer claims that Charles "went nuts" and subjected him to an unbroken stream of anger before abruptly pausing. What followed, according to the memoir, was an expression of deep-seated animosity. "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," Spencer writes, adding that the future monarch hissed, Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough! Spencer recalls being so stunned that he could barely reply before telling the prince he could not believe he had uttered those words and abruptly ending the call.

The Palace response arrived swiftly and carried an unusually sharp tone. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson addressed the allegations through a calculated statement:

"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."

Buckingham Palace spokesperson, via CBS News

The decision to issue a public rebuttal marks a distinct departure from the institution's usual strategy of maintaining silence regarding tell-all memoirs. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, observed that she could not recall another recent instance of royal communication quite as stark, highlighting the intense emotional feeling driving the Palace's actions.

George Gross, a royal historian at King's College London, told Associated Press that digging back into a tragic historical event raises difficult questions about why a brother chooses to revisit the pain in public format.

The fresh controversy arrives at a particularly challenging juncture for the royal family, who are managing ongoing health concerns, including King Charles’s ongoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer and the Princess of Wales's recovery from her own medical treatments, as noted by CBS News. Additionally, the recent return to the UK of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has kept media scrutiny elevated regarding long-standing familial divisions, contributing to what royal experts describe as a potentially exhausting period of public relations management for the institution.

As the narrative unfolds, further revelations are anticipated. The full book, published by Penguin Press, spans 384 pages and is slated for official release on Tuesday, September 22, with widespread serialization continuing in British newspapers ahead of the launch. For now, Buckingham Palace remains locked in a reactive defensive posture, leaving the public to weigh Earl Spencer’s written memories against the institution's flat denials as the publication date approaches.