The late Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, raised eyebrows in royal circles with his tell-all memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister — and according to a source, King Charles III was particularly affected behind the scenes.
“Everyone inside the palace is completely beside themselves that Diana’s brother would publish such lies,” the insider exclusively tells Us, claiming that the British monarch, 77, is “devastated” by the revelations. “He doesn’t recognize the person Charles Spencer is portraying.”
Spencer’s book was published Tuesday, September 22, in which the earl, 62, chronicled his sibling dynamic with Diana before her 1997 death. Diana died in a fatal car crash in Paris at the age of 36 and was later honored with a state funeral. In one passage, Spencer claimed that Charles sounded “giddily elated” when they spoke days after the accident and allegedly said Diana would soon be forgotten.
According to the insider, Spencer’s literary account isn’t “in line with what truly happened” between the former brothers-in-law or “in [the monarch’s] character.”
“Everyone around [King] Charles during that time knows that he was anguished by her passing and it threw him into depression for years,” the source claims. “Only those closest to him know how hard of a time that period was. Insiders are aghast because they know how hard he took it.”
The insider tells Us Diana’s death was “an emotional time for everyone” who knew her or admired her from afar.
“It was a mixture of personal grief and public grief. The personal layer no one saw and there was a lot more that hasn’t been described,” the source notes. “And there was a public layer to give the public what they wanted.”
Swan Song has caused those in the palace “a lot of sadness, anger and hurt,” but not much can be done in response, the insider claims.
“They took the revelations really hard and have felt powerless,” the source alleges. “Those closest to them know the truth, that’s all that matters.”
Days before Swan Song’s publication, Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement addressing its contents.
“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 judgement and color memory in ways others do not recognize even many years after such a loss,” a spokesperson for the palace told Us earlier this month.
Spencer, for his part, condemned the statement and stood by what’s written in his book.
“Well, it’s not every day you’re gaslit by a king, but I was really upset with that because I thought it was very, not only condescending, but not straight,” Spencer told ABC News’ Maggie Rulli in an interview for Good Morning America on Sunday, September 20. “What I said is straight and true, and what did they come back with? That.”
He continued, “It doesn’t say he didn’t say it either. That’s what I found interesting. I was really shocked, actually.”
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is out now.
