A new royal controversy has erupted nearly three decades after Princess Diana’s death, after her brother, Charles Spencer, made a series of extraordinary claims about King Charles in his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. 👑💔

Spencer describes the painful days following Diana’s death in Paris in 1997 and recounts an alleged phone conversation with her former husband, then-Prince Charles.

According to Spencer’s account, the two men became involved in a heated disagreement over Diana’s funeral arrangements, particularly over whether her young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, should walk behind their mother’s coffin. William was 15 and Harry was 12 at the time.

Spencer says he strongly believed Diana would not have wanted her children to take part in such a public and emotionally difficult procession. He alleges that the conversation became increasingly heated before Charles made a remark that Spencer says left him stunned: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

Spencer says the words shocked him and that he immediately ended the conversation. He has since insisted that he remembers the exchange clearly and says he is telling the truth about what was said. In a recent BBC interview, Spencer maintained that those were the exact words he remembers Charles using.

But Buckingham Palace has strongly pushed back.

In an unusually direct response to the allegations, the Palace said that while it does not normally comment on books, the King is mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory” even many years after a loss. The statement was widely understood as challenging the reliability of Spencer’s recollection without directly addressing the alleged conversation itself.

Spencer has not accepted that explanation. He has accused the King of “gaslighting” him and has continued to stand by his account. He says the conversation was so shocking that he remembers it distinctly and that he spoke about it with others at the time.

The memoir contains other claims about Charles as well. Spencer alleges that Charles told Diana before their wedding that he was not actually in love with her, and he describes Charles as sounding “giddily elated” when he learned of Diana’s death. Buckingham Palace has rejected the portrayal of Charles contained in these accounts.

It is important to remember that these are Spencer’s recollections and allegations, published decades after the events. They are disputed by the Palace and have not been independently established as fact.

Diana died on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36, after a car crash in Paris. Her funeral on September 6 became one of the most watched and emotional royal events of the modern era, with William and Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin alongside other members of the family.

Now, as Spencer’s memoir brings those painful memories back into the spotlight, the dispute has once again put Diana’s final days and the relationship between her family and the Royal Family under intense public scrutiny.

Nearly 30 years later, the question remains: what exactly was said behind closed doors after Diana’s death?