Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer claims in his new book that the late Queen Elizabeth offered to restore his sister’s royal title on the day of her funeral in 1997
Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer has claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth offered to restore his sister’s royal title on the day of her funeral.
He claims he was told of the offer by Robert Fellowes, the Queen’s Private Secretary as they travelled to Diana’s burial in 1997. Earl Spencer said he replied: “That’s very kind of the Queen, of course. But what’s the point, Robert? Now? I mean – Diana’s dead.”
According to the Daily Mail, Charles Spencer decided to reject the Queen’s “well-meaning” gesture, describing it as a “consolation prize.” He wrote: “I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award.”
It is one of several jaw-dropping allegations made in his book. The new book, ‘Swan Song: Diana, My Sister’, which is being published on September 22, spills a string of shocking claims ranging from her relationship with the Royal Family, to her marriage and details of the days following her death.
In a section released on Thursday, Earl alleged that Charles acted “like a lottery winner” after Diana’s death in 1997. He wrote: “The phone rang constantly.
“Prince [King] Charles caught me as I crossed the landing upstairs. Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time.”
He also alleged that Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” after Diana tragically died in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris. The peer claimed the King made the comments after a heated phone call over Diana’s funeral arrangements.
He claimed he told C harles that Diana wouldn’t have wanted her sons to be put through such a torturously public ordeal. Earl Spencer wrote: “He [Charles] unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’.”
Diana was stripped of the ‘HRH’ title in 1996, following her divorce with Charles. Earl claimed that the removal of her HRH title had been “petty and vindictive”.
Buckingham Palace has fired back at the accusations made by Earl Spencer. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”