Last month, the Windsors were severely irritated by the Earl of Spencer welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Althorp. In my opinion, the Sussexes’ Althorp plans were a huge reason why King Charles invited the Sussex family to Highgrove. It would have been a particularly terrible storyline without that Highgrove invitation: “The sadistic Windsors are still organizing endless humiliation rituals for the Sussex family, all while Princess Diana’s brother provides safe harbor and peace at Althorp.” Well, the left-behinds are going to HATE this news. Apparently, Charles Spencer (the Earl Spencer) has written a book about his sister and what really happened around Diana and Charles’ marriage and what happened after Diana’s 1997 death.
Earl Spencer has written a sensational memoir about his sister Princess Diana and the tumultuous aftermath of her tragic death, the Daily Mail can reveal. Set to be published next month, ‘Swan Song: Diana, My Sister’ is a deeply personal account of his relationship with his sibling, which he has never told before.
The book, described as ‘historic’ and ‘extraordinarily moving’, is expected to cover Diana’s childhood, her deeply unhappy 15-year marriage to the then-Prince of Wales, and the febrile days following her shocking death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.
Announcing the news today, Earl Spencer, 62, said: ‘With the 30th anniversary of Diana’s tragic death on the skyline, I’ve been inundated yet again with requests for interviews about my sister. This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time.’
Swan Song, which will be published around the world and translated into 12 languages, is expected to provide an unprecedented inside account of a seismic week during which the House of Windsor was rocked by a global wave of public grief and anger.
Earl Spencer today added: ‘The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective, just as I attempted to do when speaking at her funeral. As with my eulogy, I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way. I hope this book will be of interest to the many who still cherish the memory of Diana when she was alive, and I would be delighted if those too young to remember her in her heyday feel – after reading this – that they ‘get’ who she really was: a one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a far better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young.’
Swan Song is due to be published in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph, a division of Penguin Random House, on September 22. The book’s striking cover features an elegant black-and-white photograph of Diana.
Publisher Daniel Bunyard today said: ‘This is a book of historic importance, telling as it does the story of one of the 20th century’s most iconic and culturally significant figures, but it is also utterly unique in being written by Earl Spencer, from a vantage point of such intimacy. Charles Spencer is both a loving brother and an acclaimed memoirist as well as a celebrated historian, and all these facets are brought together in Swan Song. It is extraordinarily moving, beautifully written and remarkably candid, in no small part due to Charles’s rare ability to access great emotional depth without sentimentality, honest observation without rancour, and warmth without gloss. While these pages contain many revelations that will draw considerable attention, readers will find, for the first time, but also for all time, a fitting tribute to the beloved woman who was Princess Diana.’
Penguin Random House? Same publisher as Prince Harry. It would not surprise me at all if Harry not only knew all about his uncle’s book, but Harry encouraged him to write it too. As I’ve said many times, I get the impression that Harry and his uncle Charles are very close and speak to each other often. I also think the Earl Spencer has visited Montecito several times over the years. Anyway, I’ll read this. I’m glad that Charles Spencer is creating his own historical record of the Diana he knew, as her brother. A narrative free of royalist agendas and “palace insider” quotes.
BEAUTIFUL. BELOVED. HUNTED. Pre-order now.
In Swan Song, Charles Spencer provides the most intimate, loving, and honest portrait yet of his sister.
Learn more: https://t.co/34GjaE7Vbj#PenguinPress #NewReleases #NewThisMonth #princessdiana #charlesspencer pic.twitter.com/TiwSe2Cjr7
— penguinpress (@penguinpress) August 18, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Earl Spencer is greeted by his nephews the Duke of Cambridge (right) and Duke of Sussex (left) as he arrives for unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, on what would have been her 60th birthday. Picture date: Thursday July 1, 2021. .,Image: 619024740, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer and Karen Spencer arrive at the wedding of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England.,Image: 515240626, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Earl Spencer at the unveiling of a statue of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, on what would have been her 60th birthday. Picture date: Thursday July 1, 2021. .,Image: 619024591, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- The Duke of Sussex with his uncle Earl Spencer, at the unveiling of a statue of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, on what would have been her 60th birthday.,Image: 619146847, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dominic Lipinski / Avalon
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- Guests arrive to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
I’m going to audible right now to preorder!!!
Imagine the Windsors thinking that they had put a stop to the book eruptions. Then this happens. I love this for them.
Oh yes – I hope they were completely blindsided. 🙂
Probably not – it’s possibly the reason why Charles is trying to make mends with Harry?
The media knew nothing about it or we would have heard about it before now. If the media had no inkling, neither did the palaces. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know what I’ll be getting my aunt for her birthday in November haha.
Good for Earl Spencer!!! This is excellent news. Wonderful!
Wow, that photo on the cover. I hope the book is as powerful as Diana’s gaze.
I love all of this for the Windsor-Wales, let them cry harder. Have any of you noticed that in episode 5 of Harry and Meghan, that there’s a segment of Archie banging on a little drum and he says its for Daddy and UNCLE CHARLES!!!! I noticed when I watched on a plane and I hollered. Drag them Uncle Charles, drag them.
I have always wondered if he would write a book about her – his books are supposedly a good read and very well researched.
I’ve read his memoir: A Very Private School, and a couple of his other books. They’re excellent reads. He’s a very skilled writer, and it’s clear, reading his books, that he has a historian’s perspective. I will definitely be reading this book as soon as I can snag a copy.
I’m enjoying the thought of Harry and Uncle Charles chatting about their respective books — and wondering if King Charles will have the courage and emotional fortitude to read them. I’m also enjoying thoughts of what the publicity tour for this book is gonna look like.
I had no idea he was an author and read (and really enjoyed) The White Ship. It was only recently that someone here pointed out the connection and I realised.
I loved his writing so it bodes well for the readability of this book.
Okay, yeah, I’ll be reading this. The Windsors are going to hate it. Charles and Camilla will really hate it. As will William. Cue the smelling salts.
The royal crash out over this is going to be epic. “How dare a brother write a memoir about his late sister!? William has already told us she was paranoid. There’s nothing more to say!” I can’t wait. This tea is piping hot. 👀🫖
You can really see the Spencer genes when Charles and Harry are together.
Haha. Getting my popcorn now. So looking forward to the palace briefings. I hope he rips Charles and Camilla to shreds
I imagine that a reason why Harry is close to his uncle is because of his uncle’s insight of Diana from an adult perspective, which Harry never personally experienced. Who else is around to talk about his mom?
Good for Earl Spencer. This is definetely a book I will buy.
“This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time.’”
This sounds how I imagine the Spare’s mindset to have been before he sat down with JR Moehringer to write his powerful, successful memoir.
Like nephew, like uncle. It’s good to see they support each other.
Looking forward to reading Swan Song.
I can’t wait to read it!
Earl Spencer is a good writer and has written several excellent books dealing with British history. I definitely will buy this book.
Given the excellent reviews on his other books I will definitely be reading this one, I hope Charles doesn’t hold back. Love the photo chosen, it says a lot about how Charles views Diana
I’m glad he’s getting his memories of her in print. As more and more misinformation muddies minds, first-person accounts are so important for the historical record.
All I got is awwww :’) Thank you for sharing this with us.
I’m excited for this book. I hope he brings the fucking house down on them.
I never cared for Diana’s brother. He seemed a serial husband rather than a good one. In a speech he commented that marriage was “through thick & thin” and his (first) wife Vicky was certainly both thick and thin. Had he no filters? We were told that he & Diana weren’t on speaking terms when she died, yet he spoke for her at her funeral. I wondered if the blistering eulogy was more for Diana or his own aggrandizement.
He seems to have grown up a bit. Supporting Harry is good for Harry, even if it also is good for him & book sales. I am so hopeful this will be a good, factual book and put the Rota & rottweiler in their place. That would be a true service to Diana.
He quit drinking so that may help him on this current marriage. Also, he successfully sued the Daily Mail (2018) & the Times (2021) for lies about his relationship with Diana, including stating he didn’t allow her to move to Althorp when she & KC3 split. You can’t believe the tabloids you know. I doubt he wasn’t speaking to Diana when she died either.
I love that Kitty has no part of this world. A world Meghan has been welcomed to and embraced in.
I love that no one saw this coming and I truly hope Diana’s brother doesn’t hold back. I hope he burns it all down, but that’s just me. More than likely it will be a loving tribute from the brother who knew her longer and better than the scum who made her life a living hell. I’m definitely buying this book but with fingers crossed that Charles Spencer chooses the nuclear option. (Because I’m petty like that)
Oooooh! My ass is SAT! Just pre-ordered mine!
LoL, this is going to be SEISMIC! Spare frenzy all over again.
The British press will be falling over themselves to spew out ‘articles’ every 20 minutes with full-time teams of their journos reading chapters in parallel.
The royal rota WhatsApp will be on overdrive as they try to coordinate their stance: should they try to blast it, like they did with Spare? Tricky, it’s not so easy to trash a British Earl and the brother of a once popular Princess. He’s unlikely to take it lying down.
Should they ignore it (as they do with anything positive about Harry/Meghan that they can’t find a negative spin for), and hope their mostly dull-witted readers don’t pay attention?
Should they try to spin it into something completely false which confirms their own made-up narratives? “Earl Spencer thinks Diana would have hated Meghan! We told you so!”
I think it’ll be the latter…
I love this. I suspect the royalists are going to be outraged about this new book.