There’s very little about Princess Diana’s too-brief life that didn’t get reported on, to some degree or another, both before and after her tragic death in 1997. But now, her brother—author, journalist and broadcaster Charles Spencer, who is perhaps best-known for his searingly emotional speech at Diana’s funeral—has released a book detailing his unique perspective on life with a sister who grew up to be one of the most famous women in the world.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister has already reportedly drawn the ire of Buckingham Palace, but there’s a lot more than anti-King Charles rhetoric in the memoir (although, to be fair, there is quite a bit of that). Below, find five key takeaways from Spencer’s book, from his family’s original desires for their sister and daughter’s funeral, to a major regret he voices about how he wishes he’d approached his sister’s history of disordered eating while she was alive.
King Charles had an alleged history of comporting himself poorly (to say the least) in the wake of death
One of the most shocking anecdotes relayed by Spencer concerns the way his former brother-in-law spoke to him immediately following the news of Diana’s death. Spencer describes the then-Prince as sounding “giddily elated—like a lottery winner” and, on another occasion, allegedly angrily promising Charles of his late sister: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!” That wasn’t the only time the now-King alienated Spencer by displaying callousness after a loved one’s death, though, as Spencer claims that when he was alone with Charles just after his and Diana’s father’s funeral, King Charles told him: “You’re just so lucky—you know, inheriting when you’re so young!”
Diana’s family wanted to commemorate her life with a ‘small, private funeral’
“Some of us were angry, and protective, feeling we had lent Diana to the world for a decade and a half, and that that sacrifice had ended in the darkest of tragedies. Now, it seemed to us, was the time for us to reclaim her broken body, for quiet and dignified committal and safekeeping,” writes Charles, adding: “This, we felt, should be as we saw fit, and certainly in private.” While Charles claims he only expected to eulogize his sister in front of 400 people at most, Diana’s funeral ultimately ended up drawing 2,000 invited guests (Hillary Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Mariah Carey, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman among them) and being watched by 2 billion people worldwide.
Diana allegedly confided in her father that she had doubts about marrying “a man who clearly did not love her”
Charles relays a story in Swan Song about Diana being ignored by her then-fiancé King Charles at a party at Windsor Castle held to celebrate his brother Andrew’s 21st birthday. According to Charles, Diana told her father soon after that she held reservations about her upcoming marriage, with Charles noting: “My father was appalled and said it was impossible to pull out of such an enormous commitment at that point.”
