Charles Spencer’s New Memoir Revisits Diana’s Life and His Famous Funeral Eulogy

Charles Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has published a new memoir reflecting on his relationship with his sister, her life within the royal family and the events surrounding her death in 1997.

Titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, the book was published in the UK on September 22. Spencer has described it as an attempt to present his own memories of Diana, particularly as the 30th anniversary of her death approaches.

Spencer, who delivered the famous eulogy at Diana’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in September 1997, revisits the days following her death and his involvement in the funeral arrangements.

One of the most widely reported claims from the memoir concerns an alleged conversation between Spencer and the then Prince Charles. Spencer claims that during a disagreement over Diana’s funeral procession, Charles told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” The allegation has been reported by The Guardian based on extracts from the book, though it remains Spencer’s account of a private conversation from nearly three decades ago.

The new memoir also examines Diana’s childhood, her marriage to Charles and her complicated relationship with the royal family. Spencer presents his sister as a charismatic but deeply complicated person whose public image did not always reflect the woman he knew privately.

In his original funeral speech, Spencer famously described Diana as the “People’s Princess”, a phrase that became closely associated with her public legacy.

John Crace’s Guardian article, however, takes a very different approach. Rather than providing a conventional review, Crace uses satire to parody Spencer’s account, repeatedly placing the earl himself at the centre of the story. The piece exaggerates Spencer’s pride in his 1997 eulogy and his role in Diana’s funeral to create a comic version of the memoir.

The satire follows Spencer’s recollections of Diana’s childhood, her marriage, the circumstances surrounding her death and the funeral. It also pokes fun at the extensive attention he gives to his own role in these events.

A separate Guardian review of Swan Song describes the memoir as containing both emotional passages about Diana and extensive discussion of Spencer’s own experiences and grievances. The review also notes that some of the book’s claims concern private conversations that cannot easily be independently verified.

Spencer has said that he wanted to write the book because he was increasingly uncomfortable with what he regarded as inaccurate accounts of his sister. He said his aim was to tell the story of Diana from the perspective of her brother.

The memoir comes nearly 30 years after Diana died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. Her death and funeral remain among the most closely examined events in modern British royal history.

Sources
The Guardian — John Crace’s satirical review
The Guardian — Review of Swan Song
The Guardian — Report on Spencer’s claims about King Charles
The Guardian — Announcement of Spencer’s memoir