Nearly 30 years after Princess Diana’s death, her brother is revealing what unfolded behind the scenes as the royal family prepared to lay her to rest.
In his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Charles Spencer recounts the tense days after Diana’s death, including a bitter disagreement with her former husband, then-Prince Charles, over her funeral arrangements.
Speaking with Katie Couric on the latest episode of Next Question, Spencer revisited how that dispute escalated into a heated phone call between the two men. According to Spencer, Charles ended the conversation with five words that stayed with him — and ultimately helped shape his famous eulogy for Diana.
What did King Charles say to Charles Spencer after Diana died?
According to Spencer, the dispute began when a Buckingham Palace liaison called to tell him that it had been decided William and Harry would walk behind their mother’s coffin. Spencer objected, telling him, “That’s not going to happen.”
When the liaison responded that the then-Prince Charles had said the boys would participate, Spencer again refused. He says he felt particularly responsible for speaking up because Diana had named him as a guardian of the two boys.
A few minutes later, Spencer says his dedicated phone line for funeral arrangements rang again. This time, it was Prince Charles himself.
“I gather you don’t want William and Harry to walk behind the coffin,” Spencer recalls Charles telling him.
“Well, of course not, sir. Diana wouldn’t have wanted it,” Spencer says he replied.
Charles then pointed out that he had walked behind the coffin of his great-uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten. Spencer shot back: “Yes, but you were 30, and he wasn’t your mother.”
That response, Spencer claims, sent Charles into a rage.
“He went nuts. And he was ranting,” Spencer says, recalling that Charles accused his family of not understanding “the meaning of duty.”
Then, Spencer says, Charles suddenly stopped. He thought he had calmed down — until the future king uttered what Spencer now calls “those five words”: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”
“I was stunned,” Spencer recalls. “And then I said, ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ And I hung up.”
Spencer says the alleged remark stayed with him as he prepared Diana's eulogy. He deliberately emphasized his sister’s sense of duty and ended with a promise that Diana would “never be extinguished from our minds” — words he now says were a direct response to his conversation with Charles.
How has Buckingham Palace responded?
Spencer’s claims have already prompted a rare response from Buckingham Palace, which typically stays quiet when it comes to books and reports about the royal family. (You might remember that the Palace didn’t even publicly respond to Prince Harry’s bombshell 2023 memoir, Spare, despite its many claims about Charles, William, and the rest of the royal family.)
In a statement provided to ABC News and other outlets, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “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.”
When Katie read the statement to Spencer during their interview, he immediately pointed to what it didn’t say. “There’s no denial in there,” he said, calling the response “a classic case of gaslighting.”
Spencer pushed back on the suggestion that grief or the passage of time had distorted his memory. He says he told close family members and friends about the alleged exchange almost immediately because he was so shocked by it.
“It’s trying to make out that I was either too emotional or it’s too far in the past, my memory can’t be trusted,” Spencer said. “I told people about this straight away.”
For more, watch Katie’s full conversation with Spencer, where he shares more memories of Diana — and Katie recalls her own encounter with the late princess.
