Diana’s brother publishes memoir amid dispute over royal revelations

A memoir by Charles Spencer about his late sister, Princess Diana, went on sale Tuesday in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries, with translated editions planned or released in markets including Germany, Brazil and Spain. “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister”, published by Penguin, is a 384-page account of Diana’s life from her younger brother’s perspective. It was released almost 30 years after Diana died in a 1997 car crash in Paris.

Spencer, 62, has said he wrote the book to challenge what he called untruths that had become accepted over time. Extracts published by the Daily Mail generated headlines over claims concerning Diana’s former husband, now King Charles III. Spencer wrote that Charles told him after Diana’s death, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough,” and said the then Prince of Wales sounded “giddily elated”.

Buckingham Palace responded that grief can affect judgement and colour memories many years after a loss. Spencer rejected that response, saying the words were exactly those Charles had used. The memoir also says Diana considered suicide during her marriage and describes an occasion when concern for her sons, William and Harry, prevented her from going further.

Spencer alleges Diana felt revulsion towards Mohamed Al-Fayed and claimed he had groped her and made suggestive comments. The source material says those allegations are included in the book. Several commentators disputed or criticised parts of the memoir.

Biographer Robert Hardman said he remembered Charles as distraught and in tears at Diana’s funeral. Andrew Morton called the account of the phone call incendiary and disputed, while commentator Jennie Bond described the memoir as vindictive. Spencer inherited Althorp, the family home where he and Diana grew up.

Diana is buried on an island in its grounds.