Buckingham Palace has taken the unusual step of responding publicly to a forthcoming book that makes claims about King Charles in the period after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. The volume, titled Swan Song, is written by Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, and is due to be published on 22 September 2026. The book is presented as a reflection on the final years of Diana’s life told from her perspective.
According to the account, Spencer describes a telephone conversation in early September 1997 in which the then Prince of Wales is said to have grown angry and remarked that ‘Diana will soon be forgotten.’ The passage forms part of the wider recollections that the book sets out about that period.
Rather than decline to engage, as royal households often do with memoirs, the Palace issued a statement that acknowledged the book without confirming or denying the specific claim. ‘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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,’ the statement read.
The wording stops short of a direct rebuttal and instead frames the dispute in terms of long-running grief. It stands out because the royal household typically avoids commenting on the contents of books written by relatives or former staff, which makes the decision to respond at all notable.
The release has also been shadowed by an unrelated incident. Four copies of Swan Song were reportedly taken from a transport vehicle in the Netherlands while the driver was asleep, and Dutch authorities are said to be looking into the theft. The Palace intervention is described as the second forceful public statement from royal quarters in a short span, following a separate letter clarifying the status of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were described as private citizens without an official royal role.
