Opinion: King Charles Sucked Into Vicious Family Feud Over Princess Diana

Tim Graham / Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images The extraordinary war of words between King Charles and Princess Diana’s brother has reignited a nearly 30-year-old family feud which threatens to endure over the coming weeks.

My sense is that revulsion is building at Earl Spencer’s decision to sit like a dragon on the egg of his most explosive allegation about the king, only to sell it to the Daily Mail in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death.

In his new book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister , he claims that in the days after the Paris crash the then-Prince of Wales “hissed” down the phone at him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” While my own experience of grief makes me quite certain that regrettably sharp words may well have been exchanged, the Palace’s response, 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,” was a carefully worded way of saying the king believes a bitter and twisted Spencer has made it up.

The statement also says the Palace usually steers clear of making statements about books.

It is worth bearing in mind that the Palace made no public statement upon the release of Harry’s autobiography, Spare .

And while the late Queen did say “recollections may vary” after his and Meghan’s notorious Oprah appearance, the strength of the King’s response to Spencer’s claim is phenomenal.

The argument which led to the alleged outburst centered around whether William and Harry, 15 and 12 in 1997, should walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.

It was at that funeral that the whole world saw Spencer make a pointed pledge in front of the royals.

Speaking at Westminster Abbey, Spencer said that Diana’s “blood family”—i.e. he himself—would protect the boys “so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as [she] planned.” The comment exacerbated the growing chasm between the public and the Windsors after Diana’s death, with the British people quickly angered at the royals’ cold courtliness.

In the 21st century, however, Charles’s allies have been quick to defend him.

Julian Payne, who ran the king’s communications for five years from 2016 and worked alongside the then-prince during the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2017, has told BBC Radio 4’s Today program he did not recognize “the way the King is being characterized in those remarks.” He said: “He was absolutely emphatic that we were to respect her memory and not undermine it in any way.

When he was telling us there was never to be any criticism or pushback, that wasn’t about him.