Charles Spencer has taken aim at the royal family in his latest book – and has included some shocking claims about King Charles.
Swan Song: Diana, my Sister, which focuses on the life and death of the Earl’s late sister, Princess Diana, will hit the shelves on Tuesday. Excerpts have been published in advance, however, prompting an unprecedented response from Buckingham Palace.
One of the most shocking claims from Diana’s brother concerns the King’s reaction to his ex-wife’s death, and a row about the decision that Prince William and Prince Harry should walk behind her coffin.
In one extraordinary passage, Charles alleged that during a heated 1997 telephone row over the funeral arrangements, the then-Prince Charles hissed, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Charles further alleged that the King sounded “giddily elated – like a lottery winner” after her death and went “ballistic” when he opposed having young Princes William and Harry walk in the funeral procession.
‘Fraternal grief can cloud judgement’
The assertions promoted a swift and definitive response from the 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.”
And it will no doubt have caused great pain to Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry, who are now being forced to relive through an incredibly painful period of their lives.
Unfortunately, it seems, they will have to endure further upset when their uncle’s book does hit the shelves on Tuesday.
Diana’s hidden battle with her eating disorder
In one passage, Charles shines a spotlight on Diana’s battle with her eating disorder.
The Princess publicly and openly struggled with bulimia nervosa for many years, first revealing her battle with the eating disorder in Andrew Morton’s 1992 biography, Diana: Her True Story, and later during her famous 1995 BBC Panorama interview.
© Tim GrahamWriting in his book, Charles said of his sister: “Her insecurity was increased a few days after the engagement announcement when Prince Charles had squeezed her waist and said, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’
“This was a comment she found devastating (she would later share with me that her waist shrank from 29 to 23½ inches between her engagement and her marriage).”
Diana’s comments on her bulimia
Diana herself spoke about her eating disorder for Andrew Morton’s 1992 biography. Through an intermediary, the Princess passed the author confessional tapes, including one that heard her say: “The bulimia started the week after we got engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome.
“My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me – and the Camilla thing.”
Elizabeth Emanuel, the designer of Diana’s wedding gown, later revealed in interviews that when they started dress fittings, Diana’s waist measured 26 to 27 inches. But by July 1981, it had shrunk down to a 23.
William and Harry ‘want their mother’s memory laid to rest’
The many revelations made in Charles Spencer’s book have no doubt had a huge emotional impact on Prince William and Prince Harry.
According to Katie Nicholl – author of the book The New Royals: “It’s hard to know how they’re feeling because ultimately, [Earl Spencer’s book bombshell is happening…] at a moment in time nearly 30 years on, when they want their mother’s memory laid to rest, they want her legacy honored, and continued in their charity work…
© Getty Images“To have it overshadowed with arguments, fallouts, rifts… that are now resurfacing three decades on, can surely not be what any of them want.
“And also, one has to imagine that for the King – these statements have come on the eve of a very important official engagement at a time of great flux and uncertainty for the Royal Family, when the King is trying his best to keep his tiller on an unsteady ship – this must come as quite a blow. I do understand that the Palace were bracing themselves for an explosive book, which very much seems to be the case.”
Reconciliation, however, seems unlikely. As Katie points out, it’s simply “not a priority” for Prince William, who is said to be unable to forgive his younger brother for comments he made about the royal family – in particular, Princess Kate.
What does the future hold for Earl Spencer’s relationship with William and Harry?
Speaking on HELLO!’s Right Royal Podcast, HELLO!’s Royal Editor, Emily Nash, said: “Well, to the best of my knowledge, I don’t think he [Charles Spencer] is particularly close to William. We know Harry stayed with him back in July when he was in the UK.
© Stuart McClymont“So they do have a somewhat closer relationship, but it puts Harry in a difficult situation because, however much he may like to wear his heart on his sleeve when he talks about his mother, he’s been very passionate about being attached to her legacy and wanting to bring that into pretty much everything he does; on the other hand, we know he’s trying to reconcile with his father. So where does this leave him? He can’t very well support what his uncle is saying.”
She continued: “But William is the person, I think, maybe in the most difficult situation, because whatever his feelings behind the scenes, he has to keep the show on the road. This is his future and his family’s future. And if you’re lobbing a grenade at the institution… Really? Because it’s not just the King who’s being accused of things here, it’s the whole palace machinery. And of course we know from everything that happened around the Panorama scandal, William is sick of people capitalising on his mother’s memory to make money. So I do wonder what he feels about this.”
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