Royal Rift Deepens as Earl Spencer Claims King Charles Was 'Giddily Elated' After Princess Diana's Death

A fierce dispute has erupted between Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer following explosive claims made in his upcoming memoir about the death of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. The earl has alleged that King Charles III sounded remarkably upbeat when the two spoke shortly after the fatal Paris car crash in 1997, describing the monarch's demeanor in starkly unflattering terms.

In serialized extracts from his forthcoming book, Spencer recounted his phone conversation with the then-Prince of Wales, asserting that Charles sounded like an ecstatic lottery winner rather than a grieving former spouse. The assertion offers an intensely personal and critical depiction of the King's reaction during one of the most tumultuous moments in modern royal history.

Buckingham Palace responded with an unusually direct counterattack, firmly dismissing the credibility of the account. Royal officials highlighted the profound emotional toll of Diana’s death on her brother, suggesting that time and intense sorrow have distorted his recollection of the conversations that took place nearly three decades ago.

A spokesperson for the Palace stated that while the royal household maintains a general principle of not commenting on published books, the King is mindful that the enduring anguish of losing a sibling can impair reason, affect personal judgment, and alter memories in ways that other participants in those events simply do not recognize, even across the span of many years.

The sharp Palace rebuttal comes in the wake of an earlier serialized extract from Spencer's book, in which he claimed that Charles had callously remarked that Diana would soon be forgotten. The Palace immediately rejected that portrayal, reiterating its stance when the latest allegations regarding the telephone exchange were made public.

Spencer’s memoir, titled *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister*, provides a chronological recollection of the night Diana died on August 31, 1997. The author writes that he first learned of the crash during the middle of the night at his residence in Cape Town, South Africa, after being awakened by an urgent phone call from his sister Jane.

As the catastrophic nature of the accident became clear, subsequent telephone conversations confirmed Diana’s passing. It was during this tragic sequence of events that Charles reached out directly to Spencer, according to the excerpts published by the Daily Mail.

The earl described a jarring contrast between Charles and the other individuals who contacted him that morning. While friends and relatives were left reeling, struggling to find words of sympathy or extend practical assistance, Spencer claims Charles appeared buoyant and cheerful as he explained the situation from the royal family's Scottish estate.

During that same call, Charles reportedly informed Spencer that he had broken the devastating news to the young Princes William and Harry inside their Balmoral bedrooms earlier that morning. Diana and Charles had formally concluded their divorce a year earlier, in August 1996, after years of intense public scrutiny and estrangement.

The latest revelations offer a harsh interpretation of the royal family’s conduct, presenting Spencer’s personal memories as an unvarnished counter-narrative to official royal histories. Observers note that the claims pose a delicate challenge for the monarchy by reviving long-buried domestic tensions surrounding Diana's life and passing.

Other family members have chosen to remain distant from the unfolding row. Representatives for the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, have stated that they will not be providing any public commentary regarding the claims published in his uncle’s memoir, while royal aides have pointed firmly to the Palace's earlier formal statements.

Beyond the immediate aftermath of the Paris crash, the book also delves into the troubled origins of Diana’s marriage to Charles. Spencer writes that a close confidante of the princess revealed that on the eve of their high-profile July 1981 wedding, Charles admitted he was pleased to marry her but was not actually in love with her.

The memoir details how the royal couple’s relationship deteriorated rapidly, with Spencer observing that both husband and wife appeared to despair of one another as marital discord deepened. The author paints a picture of two fundamentally incompatible individuals trapped within a high-stakes union that neither could easily navigate.

In a retrospective assessment of his sister's well-being, Spencer suggests that Diana may have lived with undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He writes that this may have contributed to Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, an emotional state characterized by severe psychological pain in response to perceived rejection, disapproval, or criticism.

Spencer also addresses the darkest periods of Diana’s life, disclosing that the late princess contemplated suicide on more than one occasion during her final years. According to the book, it was ultimately her overwhelming devotion and protective love for her two sons that prevented her from ending her life.

With *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister* scheduled for full publication next week, the contentious revelations are set to provoke widespread debate regarding the royal family's private history. The book reopens profound questions about the enduring impact of Diana's death and tests whether the public views the memoir as a vital family testimony or an unwelcome reopening of historical wounds.