Diana’s ghost returns to haunt Charles. Spencer and Palace clash

Diana bombshells reopen old wounds as Spencer and Palace clash

Earl Spencer doubles down on explosive Charles claims as Harry returns to Britain and royal feud erupts again

The ghost of Princess Diana has returned to haunt the Royal Family nearly three decades after her death — and this time her brother Earl Spencer is at the centre of the storm.

Charles Spencer has doubled down on extraordinary claims about King Charles in his forthcoming memoir, insisting that he accurately remembered a private telephone conversation in the days after Diana's death in 1997.

Spencer claims the then Prince Charles told him during an angry argument over Diana's funeral: “Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.”

He has now insisted that those were the exact words Charles used.

“I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said,” Spencer told the BBC.

The claim has triggered an unusually forceful response from Buckingham Palace, which normally refuses to comment on books about members of the Royal Family.

Palace breaks its silence

The Palace did not directly accuse Spencer of lying, but issued a pointed statement saying the King was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory” many years later.

It was an extraordinary intervention because Spencer's book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, deals with events that happened almost 30 years ago.

The memoir claims Spencer was furious when he was told that William and Harry, then just 15 and 12, would walk behind their mother's coffin.

According to Spencer, Charles became angry when he objected — and during the resulting phone call allegedly made the remark about Diana being forgotten.

‘Giddily elated’

The allegations go considerably further.

In another extract, Spencer claims Charles sounded “giddily elated – like a lottery winner” during a phone conversation following Diana's death.

He also writes that some people around the Palace were “relieved – indeed pleased” by her death and suggests the King's first thoughts may have turned to marrying Camilla.

Those are Spencer's recollections and interpretations of events, written decades later, and they have been strongly disputed by people who worked closely with Charles.

Royal biographer Tom Bower has also challenged Spencer's version, saying sources he regarded as reliable told him Charles was experiencing genuine grief after Diana's death.

And then there is Harry

The timing has added another intriguing dimension.

Prince Harry has just returned to Britain with Meghan after years in California and made his first public appearances in the UK this week.

Harry was reportedly aware that his uncle's book was coming, although not necessarily of its contents, and appeared publicly at the Invictus Spirit Awards as the controversy over his father intensified.

Bower has gone further, alleging that Spencer has “formed an alliance” with Harry and Meghan against King Charles.

That is Bower's interpretation, rather than an established fact, but it adds another layer to an already extraordinary royal family drama.

Spencer says he is telling Diana's story

Spencer, meanwhile, says his motivation is much simpler.

He has said he wanted to tell the truth about Diana from her brother's perspective rather than continue reading what he considers inaccurate accounts of her life.

The book is due to be published next week and is already being serialised, guaranteeing that more revelations are likely to emerge before the full memoir reaches readers.

And there is another extraordinary detail: Spencer claims the late Queen Elizabeth II considered restoring Diana's HRH title after her death — an offer he says he ultimately rejected.

For the Royal Family, however, the problem is not simply another book about Diana.

ORIGINAL CONTENT: Daily Mail, The Guardian, Express