Princess Diana’s Brother Accuses King Charles of Gaslighting

Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, responded strongly to Buckingham Palace’s remarks after his claims of a conversation with King Charles III were questioned. Spencer described feeling “gaslit” by the monarch.

Earlier this week, The Daily Mail shared an excerpt from Spencer’s forthcoming memoir, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.” In this excerpt, Spencer recounted a heated exchange with Charles following Diana’s death. He accused Charles of saying, “We’ll forget her soon enough,” when speaking about his ex-wife.

Buckingham Palace contested this account, suggesting that grief might have influenced Spencer’s memory of events that followed his sister’s tragic passing.

The palace released a statement, emphasizing that grief can impact one’s judgment and recollection, even years after experiencing such a loss.

Spencer criticized the palace’s response in an interview with The Mail on Sunday. He expressed shock, stating, “Finding out you’ve been gaslit by the king is not an everyday occurrence,” further adding it felt “astonishingly provocative and below the belt.” He likened Charles’ remarks to the palace’s “recollections may vary” statement from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2021 interview.

In the published excerpt dated Wednesday, Spencer detailed a phone call with Charles six days post Diana’s demise, which took place in August 1997. Spencer alleged Charles expressed frustration, lamenting the global reaction to Diana’s death and exclaimed, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”

The disagreements between Spencer and the king also included the matter of having Prince William and Harry, aged 15 and 12, respectively, walk behind their late mother’s casket during her funeral procession.

Throughout an interview on BBC One’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg,” Spencer maintained his claims, despite Kuenssberg noting the palace’s denial. Spencer argued, “They haven’t actually denied the claim, they have smudged it.”

Kuenssberg read Buckingham Palace’s statement, indicating the king might be upset by Spencer’s accounts. Spencer questioned whether the king was angry or embarrassed and insisted the words spoken by Charles were genuine.

Spencer mentioned that he had only spoken to Charles twice in his life, which made the alleged conversation memorable. He shared the remark with family and friends because it was “so monstrous.”

Spencer stressed he was recounting the truth, reacting to Kuenssberg’s query about whether the public should believe him or the king. He noted, “I can hardly be responsible for what Buckingham Palace says.”

Regarding the reaction of Prince William and Harry, Spencer mentioned they were familiar with these events, and his memoir would not surprise them. He declined to go into further details about discussions with his nephews.

Diana tragically died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Her former spouse, Charles, married her in July 1981; they separated in December 1992 and divorced in August 1996.

In his 2023 memoir “Spare,” Prince Harry addressed the decision to walk behind Diana’s coffin, describing it as “barbaric.” He detailed Spencer’s resistance to this decision.

Spencer had openly opposed the decision in the past, labeling it “bizarre and cruel” in a 2017 BBC Radio 4 interview. He found walking with the grieving young princes was “the most horrifying half an hour” of his life.

“Swan Song: Diana, My Sister” is scheduled for release on September 22.

Fox News Digital contributed additional information for this report.