Strange days for royalists, right? They’re now twisting themselves in knots to bash Princess Diana’s brother, the Earl Spencer, for writing down his recollections of Diana and everything that happened around her. The first big headline from Swan Song was Charles Spencer’s recollection of a phone call between himself and then-Prince Charles in the days after Diana’s 1997 death. They were arguing over the funeral arrangements and Prince Charles unloaded “his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death.” Then Prince Charles hissed at Spencer, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”
This recollection led to Buckingham Palace releasing a bonkers statement in which they basically called the Earl Spencer a liar: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.” The royal ecosystem has been in shambles ever since, with even hardened royal-bootlickers questioning whether the palace’s statement put more fuel on this particular fire. I guess the palace forgot that Charles Spencer also signed up for promotional interviews, and in his new BBC interview, he was asked about the palace’s statement and whether he’s lying about the current king.
In his first interview since the statement was released, the Earl insisted he was “telling the truth” about the phone call, telling the BBC: “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.”
Reacting to the comment from the palace in an interview at his Althorp estate, he said: “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?”
He added: “I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life…. I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.”
When asked whether he had evidence to back up his claim, the Earl said he had told family and friends what had been said at the time “because it was so monstrous”.
He also described the palace rebuttal to his account as a “smudged one”, adding: “They’ve said that recollections may vary.”
Something I’m keeping my eye on is the performative shock AND the lack of shock in some quarters. The old-guard royal reporters who actually knew Diana and spoke to her often (like Richard Kay) are not shocked in the least by Charles Spencer’s revelations. Those are the reporters who remember the briefing wars and how the Windsors threw everything at Diana in an attempt to destroy her. But the performative-shock people are interesting too – like, given everything we know about King Charles, Spencer’s story sounds completely in character. I’m including the BBC interview below, alongside a clip of Richard Kay defending Charles Spencer and saying that of course Spencer kept notes and remembers what happened.
Richard Kay publicly confirns that Charles Spencer kept notes of everything that was said at all times and he was aware that King Charles has said this , apparently from Diana's family, her sisters were very upset about it and her mother too. He also mentions that King Charles…
— Nina (@ShakeLS) September 18, 2026
Screencaps courtesy of BBC.
I believe he said them, just like I believe he was giddy with excitement that she died. You only have to look how he treats Harry over the years – from the false stories about rehab ad beyond to Meghan and the children. Vile, self centered, cruel man.
People are going to believe what they’re going to believe, but so many people love Diana, so many people believe that her death was not an accident, people found it extremely cruel to have married Diana and cheated on her like he did when she was so so young, people knew how incandescent he was that Diana absolutely had star power and influence, and so many people questioned Charles implication in what happened to her. It will not be surprising that people will choose to believe Charles Spencer.
Anyone with memories about the war of the wales back in mid 90s will totally believe what Spencer says because it was being said back then.
It’s hilarious that some like Richard Kay are like “yeah I was there and I saw him take notes and I took notes back then of what I was told”.
The royalists getting mad at Spencer for writing a book about his sister are just upset because Spencer is simply reminding everyone of who Charles the current king really is.
They’re also upset that he’ll be exposing their lies and making pots more money than all of their own opportunistic books about Diana put together. He’s destroying their cushy little gigs one by one, and they are reduced to contradicting their own words and their own books in real time.
I’ve previously apologized for saying negative things about Charles Spencer based on BM stories. Charles, Earl of Spencer, I’m sorry for anything negative I’ve written about you. I’ve apologized for defending C&C (can’t really call them King OR Queen, puke, there is little noble about those two).imo Basing my opinion on:
Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › noble
Sep 12, 2026 — The meaning of NOBLE is possessing outstanding qualities (as of dignity or decency). They are not noble people.
I have no doubt that Charles Windsor said those things. Along with, my belief, that C&C were toasting cocktails when they learned Princess Diana was no longer among the living.
It’s not just that Kay confirms that it would be entirely in character for Spencer to take notes, especially given the circumstances around planning the funeral – but also, that Kay and CS spoke several times that week, Kay himself took notes about confidential things CS told him about Charles at the time – and Kay’s notes “chime very much with the revelations he [CS] has made in the book”. Yikes.
Yikes, The Fall of the House of Windsor? If William weren’t so beastly toward Harry and Meghan, I’d be feeling sorry for him. What a malignant trap.
William might be more than happy to just go to his fetish dungeons and drink himself sick all the time instead of having to pull himself together occasionally to go to a pub in public with Kate. The Earl is just telling the truth but it’s having the effect of a Molotov cocktail 🔥.
Just feel happy for Williams children. Let the fall of the Windsors come in time to free them.
If it all fell apart right now, is it soon enough to save George? He does seem like a sweet child, but he surely has already been indoctrinated to the belief of his divine right and superior existence.
@MightyMolly, it’s too late. This was in kindergarten; you can only know it’s gotten worse as he ages in “The Firm”, esp. with his social climbing mother. I recalled something about George, so I found this:
AI Overview
Prince George reportedly used a cheeky schoolyard line during a playground disagreement, telling a classmate, “My dad will be king so you better watch out!”
Details of the Story
The Source: The anecdote was shared by royal author Katie Nicholl in her book The New Royals.
The Context: According to the book, a young George used his future royal status during a minor spat with friends.
@2131Jan: that’s actually the same story they told us about William so many years ago, not sure I believe anything the royal rota rats fed us.
Also, please don’t use AI. For anything. It’s killing the planet and apparently about to kill us. Please just don’t.
Harry’s kids will have a way out. William has made his fully trapped. Especially because the Middletons are just as prepared to sacrifice their souls as the worst of the sycophants to acquire social clout from their association to a future king.
That reporter has always been problematic but she was SO unprofessional. The naked scepticism, the scorn, the dismissive scoffing, the repeated insistence that he must have misheard, or be mistaken, and then dramatically reading – with exaggerated emphasis – the palace’s statement again, and repeating twice that “the king is CLEARLY FUUURIOUS!”
And knowing Prince Charles’ history and his history in the short time as king and doing the whole: “but this is the KING!” and “Are we to believe YOU over the actual KING????” And being “shocked” every time Earl Spencer said something. Nauseating. I admire the way he kept his cool, because she was clearly trying to rattle him.
She used to do the same thing to Labour and LibDem politicians whenever the Tories had been caught in a bind. I’m surprised she’s still employed by the BBC, thought she had left ages ago.
This is the reporter who interviewed Kamala Harris when she was in London on her book tour. I recognized her immediately. She tried to get MVP to say that President Biden had been in cognitive decline despite Harris denying that in the book. MVP shut her down hard.
Are you saying Biden was not in cognitive decline? Or are you saying that she just denied it in her book?
It was set up as a reenactment of Prince Andrew’s interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis.
All I was thinking was, wow, Charles Spencer is really smart, and Prince Andrew must be as dumb as a rock.
Inbreeding is bad policy.
The reporter is laura kuenssberg.
A smug, snide woman who has only gotten worse since 2016. How she got so far up with BBC the world will never know.
I heard that the Tories seeded their right wing friendly people in the BBC during all their years in power. The BBC has changed a lot.
It was really difficult to watch as an interview. Very poor Charles don’t you know he’s had cancer. Do you actually support the monarchy? Fully fishing for his relationship with William and Harry. Weirdly antagonistic about accusations like Fawcett etc where in fairness Spencer is just repeating what his sister told him. Just came across super biased. And he came across well despite that
Thank you. Laura Keunssberg I think? I can’t stand her. She is so unprofessional in her interviews and her biases are always like a neon sign. Leading the viewers into a certain narrative. Who are we to believe, you or the KING? What a shill.
He seemed fully prepared for that though. I suppose he wanted that opportunity to quiet the doubters. Handled it well.
Spencer handled the aggression with great aplomb and dignity. You could almost see his haughty ancestors lining up behind him in support.
@Puff Updater – If this weren’t about Diana, I would feel like Earl Charles vs. King Charles is basically an Eton schoolyard squabble (I know I know, KC didn’t go to Eton) but this IS about Diana. And you gotta love Earl Charles for how he’s picked this moment to make sure this history is on record.
I loved his, ‘is he furious or is he embarrassed?’
I was thinking who is this forelock tugger? What a joke. As if somehow being King confers powers of absolute honesty on Charles. Are people stupid enough to think the royals can’t lie just as much as the next person? Or misremember things? How brainwashed are they?
LOL. Agree. What does being a King have anything to do with honesty? Laughed hard at that.
Dear Laura K,
Charles Spencer wasn’t ‘defiant” per your words after the interview. He said, what he said, with certainty. Knowing how many calls were being tapped back then, no doubt there is good evidence of that conversation one way or the being documented.
Much love,
AGR
If Charles S said recollections may vary, that’s a deep stab into the bs the royals come out with since that was supposedly qe2’s reply to Harry. Go Spencers.
Ps I’m not looking it up but I thought it was qe2 and not Charles. Either or. I have a shocking memory.
Yes, you’re correct, it was QE2 who said recollections may vary. And when some people looked sideways at that, reports started giving Kitty the credit for it.
I love that the earl reminded everyone of that phrase!!
Remember when BP and KP went after the BBC regarding the Diana Panorama interview?
IIRC, Charles Spencer’s extensive notes and archiving sealed the BBC’s fate. His nephew William called him to help with the case. The BBC had to apologise, and later William declared they were the source of his mother’s paranoia.
He still had proof, over 30 years later, of what the BBC had done. So his memory and archives were enough to go after the BBC, but now they aren’t enough to tell his sister’s story.
That might be why the BBC now sicc’ed this Laura woman on him.
Chuck has a long history of being nasty to people, its where William gets it from – in turn they got it from QEQM (who could be a nasty piece of work).
The irony is is that the Spencer family (inc. the Spencer-Churchill branch) have more titles and land that the RF with a aristocratic lineage going back to the 16/17th century. In some ways Diana came from better ‘stock’ than Chuck does – mind you most of the British aristocracy do.
When Elizabeth and Philip spent time in Malta, Charles Spencer’s father was sent as part of their official coterie. The father was their good friend, which is why the older sister had dated Prince Charles but found him too odd. So Philip eventually begged for Diana.
Because the palace treated Diana, a true blue blood, so horribly, no aristocrat would let their daughters marry William, especially because they all knew how vile Camilla was and didn’t want their daughters tortured by her. Camilla was never intimidated by Kate.
To this end, no aristocrats were invited to the coronation for the first time. Charles and Camilla swapped the aristocracy for tabloid hacks. Now they are suffering because their traditional base is keeping quiet, and the king has to rely on the usual tabloid hacks like Malone, Fitzwilliam, Eden and similar dregs.
,,,and Keunssberg, apparently.
“Is he furious or is he embarrassed?” Great comeback. He also points out that there is no denial. Spencer came well prepared for this nonsense.
They will probably never deny it. There is a real fear that the conversation was recorded by the ardent and strict note taker and writer.
Chucky has no shame and is beyond embarrassment. He actually thought the rehab of his image was working. This book is a well-deserved reality check.
I’d also say that it’s a warning and a reality check to William, because I’ll bet that there are far more people who know about HIS skeletons and won’t hesitate to REALLY yank his chain in the future if needs must, especially among the ones who keep blowing smoke up his proverbial right now. Sooner or later when one of them breaks ranks and begins to talk about what they know, KP/BP will witness some of their own stenographers coming out and saying “Actually, I was also told/I witnessed this, so it is definitely true.” Except in his case, it will be people like Wootton also adding: “Not only is it true, but I’ve got the photos and videos to prove it!” 😀 And that’s even before law enforcement and assorted protection officers get their bits in.
William will be realising that becoming king, as he has been in a hurry to, will not insulate him from the truth.
Abolish the monarchy.
It’s true he has no shame but KC’s self-preservation skills are well honed.
So yes, he knows how terrible this all makes him look and he’s lashing out because he’s convinced no one should be allowed to challenge him.
It was a great comeback. And he came out looking more calm and collected than the reporter who kept pulling faces and acting aghast.
🎯
It was. The reporter has an Irish accent, I’m surprised she’s defending the British Monarchy.
Exactly! Love the comeback. CS patiently listened to her nonsense and responded with calm, cool intelligence and integrity.
The royalists are hanging on for dear life. They can’t be on one hand cheering on Charles’ cruelty and pettiness towards Harry and Meghan and on the other believing Charles Spencer’s account of his interactions with Charles are lies.
This! Cruel, petty and utterly selfish are what Charles is and will always be!
Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, Richard Kay managed to do both. He was a confidant of Diana, and defended Charles Spencer. While managing to smear Harry in the very same article. Quite a feat.
Spencer, as per Kay, is right to write the truth about Diana, and has the receipts. While Harry “styles himself as Diana’s defender”, needs to get over it, and find another purpose in life than riding the coattails of his mother, whining brat that he is. He is writing for the Daily Fail after all, they won’t forgive Harry and Meghan for the lawsuits.
They also don’t know whether Harry and the others will appeal the verdict, and they would have heard that a case/report is being made against the biased judge who used to work for the Mail and ignored facts to find in their favour and then issued a ruling granting a manifestly excessive amount in costs to the Mail.
Yeah, I noticed that. When I started reading Kay’s piece, I was hyped for a “reverse ferret,” but no, this ferret only goes in one direction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_ferret
@ljndwson: I followed your link. Yikes! The English are weird through & through.
King Charles is a monster. I believe every word the Earl Spencer wrote.
What really boggles the mind is that we have known who King Charles is since he married Diana. Am I in a fever dream, or was he not one of the most hated people in the world after her death? In the same vein as knowing Trump was a scumball in the 90s and we all seem to have collectively forgotten, we all knew the royal family were horrible and probably led to Diana’s death. Then the Queen got old and suddenly she was revered and everyone’s favorite Grandma – despite decades of seeing her cold and unfeeling. It’s just not at all shocking to hear that the King would have said these words. He’s always been an a$$, who raised as a$$ who will take over when he dies. Why are the British so committed to these clowns?
“Why are the British so committed to these clowns?” It’s truly mind boggling.
Because if they admit the RF are a bunch of grifting clowns, then Brits have to admit they’ve been fools to have gone along with the royal scam for so long.
I absolutely believe Charles Spencer. He speaks with great conviction, and it’s right to point out that the Palace’s statement didn’t actually deny that KC made the remarks (it was fluffy wording, designed to give the impression of a denial, without actually being a denial). Spencer is an intelligent man, and I don’t doubt that he has taken contemporaneous notes of key events and conversations throughout his adult life. He’s a published historian and was aware that his sister had become a part of history too by marrying into the BRF. His personal life has been a bit of a shitshow, and the press are attempting to weaponise this as if it devalues his stance, but then the palace can hardly take the higher ground in that respect, can they. Everyone remembers Spencer’s rage against the BRF at Diana’s funeral, and this just all makes sense.
Yes, and there’s a name for a statement put out to squelch a story without denying it. It’s called a non-denial denial.
I also remember KC being “giddy” just after QE2 died – it was when all the foreign dignitaries started to arrive for the funeral, he couldn’t stop grinning. I guess it made him feel important or something, as if they were all there for him rather than his mother.
So I can well believe he was giddy when Diana died too – how convenient for him, she was finally out of the way. Never mind how this would affect his sons. I just don’t think he can see beyond himself and his own interests.
“Recollections may vary” SLAY, I love how he supports Harry snd Meghan and although my initial impression was that Invictus was the impetus for the temporary relocation I now believe Earl Spencer heavily influenced the decision to come back.
This situation should be a cautionary tale for William.
Both Charles and Camilla have thrown in their lot with the tabloids. They have decided that this is the only way to control the narrative.
The tabloids have kept their part of the bargain. They are bringing all the dirt they can on Charles Spencer. But there are still people who are willing to corroborate Charles Spencer’s version of Charles.
This is what will happen to William. He will get his Charles Spencer and nothing Roya and Becky will write will save him….Prince or King.
In an interview with Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper, Spencer said: “It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the king.”
“It was astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I’d lied without the king being able to deny what I’d said,” Spencer added.
I love it
Earl is no dummy! He’s been through so many mud-slinging wars, with his stepmother “Acid Raine” and his various exes, the palace machinery must feel like amateur hour to him.
Interesting that Charles Spencer himself didn’t say he kept note, or at least he’s not quoted as such.
Everything in that book has been gone over by an army of lawyers. I’m sure there’s enough documentary evidence in some form to support his writings.
bisynaptic, he said he immediately told close friends and family what was said. That supplies a number of witnesses. Why say anything about notes, when it’s not necessary? Keep something in reserve.
I was thinking about this. Maybe, he just doesn’t want to put a target on Althorp.
Y’all, I am loving this! Just because the Spencers kept quiet all these years didn’t mean they always would. TQ is gone, the old Earl is gone, the new generation is less deferential and I am here for it! Just as Harry shook things up with his own words, so has Charles Spencer. They can’t control the narrative any more. 👏👏
And of course Chuckie said what he said! And of course Spencer would remember it and tell his sisters & his mother!!!!!! Of course!!! Too many witnesses, Chuckie, you said & did what you said & did.
I am having such a great time with this.
I was listening to the news on BBC radio 2 earlier and they had some posh woman who’s known Charles for decades saying he’s so calm and so wonderful and this really isn’t bothering him at all.
SURE JAN.
I’d laugh so hard if Chuck took to social media and his first post was : « I said what I said 💅. »
🤭
There’s no doubt in my mind Charles Spencer is telling the truth. This really makes me think Charles did orchestrate Diana’s demise in some way. He knew there would be issues if his ex-wife was living. Charles is a sociopath. He acted so grieved in front of the cameras when he was in Paris helping get her body back to England. It really was all fake.
The fact that Richard Kay and several other stenographers are coming out and more or less not disputing Charles Spencer’s version of events is very telling. Charles Spencer was a class act for holding back as long he did. He waited for Phillip, Queen Elizabeth, and Robert Fellowes to be gone before he said what he needed to say.
“Earl Spencer’s dry patrician contempt for the Windsors is delicious.”
Someone reacting to the interview said this. And indeed it is. I am eating it up.
I’m not a fan of British toffs or anything, but if I had to choose between them and the royals, I am choosing the former. Spencer is a titled man of privilege, but he was in many ways tempered and hardened by a tough childhood and it shows. He’s not blinking in the empurpled face of some jumped up little German royal house.
I can actually delight in this particular show of icy snobbery, lol.
Charles Spencer did an extended interview with CBS Sunday Morning and it’s available on YouTube. Just watched it and it was very good.
thanks!!
It is ridiculously satisfying to see him step in it like this. There’s no better time for people to be taking a hard look at how the royal family operates. And they better not be conniving to suddenly amp up their feud with the Sussexes to create a distraction.
Perhaps some of the timing was so Earl Spencer could publish his autobiography to prevent them from smearing and blackmailing him.
Paintybox, Charles needs to treat the Sussexes with kid gloves and make damn, fcking sure nothing happens to them during his watch. Truly evil man. Charles even makes William look good in comparison.
Charles had almost pulled off a pretty good image rehab around the time he walked Meghan down the aisle. People could hate what happened with Diana and Camilla but the rehab work had been so complete that many were willing to say, he was forced into the marriage, you never know what happens inside a marriage etc etc and buy that Camilla was his one true love. You could point to his environmental work and him being ahead of his time on organic farming and architecture and the princes trust and of “Okay, I don’t like what happened but he’s not a bad guy”
And then things got stupid and ugly. The petty Frogmore crap. The baby as an ape pictures with no comment. The “ boo hoo I can’t see my grandkids but I don’t really ever seem to be free to see them” crap.
Having William say Diana was paranoid ( as if she did t have good reason)
And I honestly think all of that is when Charles Spencer decided to serve him lunch.
Of course Mr whatever love means said those things. He is a cold hearted entitled selfish sob
It’s so obvious he’s telling the truth. Who here has the motive to lie? Charles is sensitive only to his own feelings. It is monstrous he would speak to a grieving family that way. Diana had a stronger sense of duty than nearly everyone in that disastrous family.
I absolutely believe him. KCII has no sense of empathy. It’s about HIM. It’s about THE CROWN. And protecting both of these things at all costs. In some ways, it’s not necessarily his fault. He knew from an early age he’d be King one day and he was also raised in an environment where he was waited on hand and foot so his ego and privilege is off the charts. He no doubt struggled with Diana’s enormous popularity (and the subsequent focus this took off of him) during their marriage, as well as the fact that her popularity seemed to grow after they divorced.
The royal family does not seem to know how to pivot and harness the popularity (and utilize for the benefit of the RF) of outsiders who marry into the family. Diana. Meghan. They both were/are assets, but their egos and many years of institutionalized behavior won’t allow them to see past their egos.