Earl Spencer blasts King Charles for 'gaslighting' him in extraordinary Diana feud

Ben McCaffrey Sun, September 20, 2026 at 7:56 AM UTC

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Earl Spencer and King Charles | Source: PA

Earl Spencer has accused the King of "gaslighting" him in a shocking new twist in the gripping ongoing saga between the monarch and Princess Diana's brother.

The feud began when it was revealed the Earl's upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, accuses the King of saying, in the days following Diana's death: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."

Further shocking excerpts from the book have since been released, in which the 62-year-old Earl alleges the King was left "giddily elated" upon hearing of her tragic death, while on the eve of his wedding to Diana, the future King is said to have told her "he was very happy to marry her, but he was not actually in love with her."

The claim promptly resulted in a rare and stern response from Buckingham Palace.

"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," a spokesman told GB News.

But the Earl has now directly responded to the Palace's strong words - which he described as a "poor imitation" of Queen Elizabeth II's "recollections may vary" statement on the Harry and Meghan fallout.

"It is not every day you wake up to find you've been gaslit by the King," he said.

"It was astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I'd lied without the King being able to deny what I'd said.

"I also thought it was a rather poor imitation of the 'recollections may vary' quote, which was a much more elegant way of putting things, but in these circumstances entirely out of place."

He also rejected any suggestion that financial gain had driven him to write the book, insisting his sister would be "cheering from the rafters" at its publication.

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The Earl had faced criticism following an unearthed clip in which he said it would be "inconceivable" to profit from Diana's death - despite being in line for millions from his latest book.

He also met backlash following another resurfaced clip from a 1997 interview with Larry King, in which Earl Spencer claims "nothing nasty has ever been said" by the King.

Earl Spencer | Source: BBC

To refute the online objections, the 62-year-old sat down with the BBC at his Althorp Estate, where heinsisted he was "telling the truth" on what he called Charles' "monstrous" comments.

Recounting his claims, he said Charles had "gone ballistic," attacking the Spencer family's sense of duty before ranting "for a significant period."

"And then he stopped, and I thought, 'Oh now he's going to pull himself together and say something more appropriate'," Earl Spencer explained. "And then he said, 'We'll forget her soon enough'."

He said that he told close friends and family "straight away".

And in response to the suggestion the King was "furious" with the claims, he asked: "Is he furious? Or is he embarrassed?

"I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said."

Several prominent figures have rallied to the King's defence. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch on Friday said she is "always on the side of His Majesty," while former Tory MP Rory Stewart, who served as a tutor to both Prince William and Prince Harry, said he "simply cannot believe" the King made the alleged remark.

"It's just not his character, it's not his personality. Never ever have I heard him say anything like that," he said.

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