Earl Spencer claims Prince Charles told him that he, William and Harry would “forget her soon enough” during a dispute over Diana’s funeral.
Spencer says he told Charles, just days after Diana’s death, that she would not have wanted William and Harry to make the public walk behind her coffin. William was 15 and Harry was 12 when they were being considered for the procession, according to Spencer’s account.
‘Not going to happen’
In his book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer recalls telling one of Queen Elizabeth’s aides that William and Harry walking in the procession at such a young age was “not going to happen”.
Spencer says he responded to Charles by pointing out that Charles had been 30 at Lord Mountbatten’s funeral. He writes that there was then a pause on the phone, which he interpreted as Charles trying to bring himself under control before expressing what Spencer regarded as pent-up contempt for Diana and horror at the public reaction to her death.
Spencer quotes Charles as saying: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Palace response
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the King was mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason.
Buckingham Palace said it did not comment on books as a matter of principle. It added that grief can affect judgment and colour memory, including many years after a loss.
According to the newspaper, Spencer says his book was written to correct “untruths” told about his older sister Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
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Source: Metro News
